“I want the minister to explain why we are rushing to pass this bill. The government already has three groups working on housing, and I want to know why we need a fourth.”

“Mr. Speaker, could the minister explain to the House why we are rushing through this bill now, keeping in mind, of course, that the federal government now has four federal housing agencies? We started with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation which is the original Crown corporation that actually solved the crisis after the Second World War. Then there was the Canada Lands Company which is a Crown corporation as well. It was created after CN was spun off. They develop land and do it reasonably well. There is the ministry. Then they created this thing called Build Canada Homes, which was another agency. Now, in the final stages of the sitting in this session, the Liberals are scrambling to move this time allocation to not just have this agency but to turn it into a Crown corporation. For the record, if people are counting, that makes three federal Crown corporations engaged in the housing file, on top of the Department of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities. I guess the question has two parts. Why do we need a fourth housing agency, a third federal Crown corporation, and why are we rushing through to get this corporation created?”

“This bill just creates more government rules and offices. We could build more cheap homes by making building codes simpler instead of spending money. Has the minister talked to the industry minister about simplifying building codes?”

“Madam Speaker, the government loves to create bureaucracy, and a good example is what is happening here today. I guess my question for the minister has to do with building codes. There are ways the government could simplify and get more housing built without spending money and creating more bureaucracies, but actually simplifying life and letting industry and other people get the job done for prices that people can afford. Has the minister ever talked to the Minister of Industry about building codes and how to get them simplified, and how to make sure people know what changes will cost, so Canadians can build more homes and have more affordable housing?”

“The Liberals have been in power for years, and their policies and red tape caused the housing crisis. They should not blame anyone else for it.”

“Madam Speaker, I listened to one of the Minister of Housing’s answers, and he said, “We are in a housing crisis”. The simple question is “Why?” The Liberals have been in government for 11 years, and they are acting like this housing crisis came out of nowhere. The policies that they have put in place caused this housing crisis with red tape. We talked to municipalities. The fact that the Liberals are blaming this housing crisis on anyone other than themselves is confusing, because the Liberals have been in government for 10 years. Who created this housing crisis?”

“I sent three emails directly to the minister, and he has not answered any of them. Other ministers reply quickly. He is setting a bad example by ignoring messages from another MP.”

“Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people from Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola. Those watching at home may not realize this, but MPs have a mechanism by which we can contact one another directly. I sent the minister three emails directly. Candidly, I have sent notes to other ministers and they respond typically within 12 to 24 hours. It shows respect among ministers and members of Parliament to do that. Not once has he responded. What kind of example is the minister setting, as a minister of the Crown, when he cannot even respond to notes from another member of Parliament?”

“Housing is the job of provinces and cities, not the federal government. The government is building affordable homes far too slowly. It needs to cut taxes and get out of the way so homes can actually be built.”

“Madam Speaker, the annual report from housing advocate Marie-Josée Houle, who is also a cabinet adviser, says that “the current pace of building deeply affordable homes is so slow that it [will] take over 1,000 years” to get to where we need to be. Housing is a provincial and municipal jurisdiction. All these agencies are working as fronts for private interests. What we need is for the government to cut taxes and just get out of the way so that we can get the homes built.”

“The government is creating another housing agency that costs $13 billion. It has set no clear targets for how many homes will be built, and it did not even ask its own housing experts for advice. I want the minister to explain how the government can justify this.”

“Madam Speaker, I find it interesting that back in 2017, when the Trudeau government came out with its national housing strategy, it gave it to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the first federal Crown corporation for housing, which delivered those programs, among other things. The CMHC does a lot of research on housing, probably more research than any other group in the country, in fact, and it is well respected. It also insures mortgages. I find it interesting that this fourth federal housing agency, the third Crown corporation for federal housing, is being created with no clear timelines or targets as to how many units would be built. I actually asked the CMHC the other day if the government had discussed with it what the targets should be, based on the need that exists out there. It said there has been no discussion. I wonder if the minister could explain to the House how the government justifies a $13‑billion fourth federal creation for housing, having done no research to provide it data on the number of units it needs to have built for non-market housing.”

“The government is spending $13 billion on another new housing agency, but it has not set any clear goals for it. I want to know why there are no targets for this money.”

“Madam Speaker, I do not think the minister entirely understood my question. When I asked him why there were no targets with this new $13-billion agency, the fourth agency, he explained to me what each of them does. Here is a news flash: I understand what each of them does. I just do not understand why we have created a fourth one. Then I asked very specifically why we would create a third federal Crown corporation and give it $13 billion and no targets other than to say that it is going to focus on non-market housing. The pre-eminent researcher on housing in the country is the first federal Crown corporation on housing, the CMHC. It does all the research. Why has the third Crown corporation not talked to the first Crown corporation? Why has the minister not talked to the first Crown corporation to give this thing some targets and put some parameters around it? This is $13 billion of Canadian taxpayers’ dollars, and there are no targets. Why is this?”

“The government has failed to get a new softwood lumber deal with the United States. Many Canadian sawmills have closed, which makes it harder to get the supplies we need to build houses. I want the minister to help reopen these sawmills so we can lower the cost of building homes.”

“Madam Speaker, we have heard quite a bit, and rightfully so, about the problems with all the bureaucracies that the government is creating, but one thing it has not done in 11 years is negotiate a new softwood lumber agreement with the United States. In fact, the minister’s own province of British Columbia has had close to 35 sawmills close in the last five years. We were reading lots of articles about sawmills closing in Quebec. The ability to produce the goods that are needed to build homes in this country is being severely limited, yet the government has done nothing about that. Is the minister going to advocate and push to try to get the sawmills open again so that Canada can produce the things that are needed, which, by doing so, would actually bring down the cost of building homes in this country?”

“First Nations need over 150,000 new homes, but the government's plan only builds about 3,400. I want the minister to create real, long-term fixes for housing on reserves instead of small band-aids.”

“Madam Speaker, the AFN estimates that there are 157,000 new homes needed to address the severe housing crisis on first nation reserves in addition to the 81,000 existing units needing major renovations. The minister announced some indigenous incentives in this, but the numbers add up to about 3,400 homes across 600‑plus first nations. Can the minister address more systematic fixes when it comes to first nations housing crises, rather than just band‑aids?”