A bill to create a new Crown corporation called Build Canada Homes to promote and support the supply of affordable housing in Canada. The debates focused on whether creating another bureaucracy is the right approach, with Conservatives questioning the need for a third federal Crown corporation and suggesting it may become another Ottawa bureaucracy. Liberals emphasized the importance of collaboration and providing financial tools to build affordable housing quickly and efficiently. Some concerns were raised about the affordability measurement and the need for varied housing types.
“I'm making a political attack. Look, the Conservatives are hypocrites on housing. Their leader stopped them from promoting a housing fund. You were a mayor. Did he stop you from writing letters for housing projects in your town? That looks bad for you.”
“I'm saying you don't actually care about results like I do. Look at me, I'm reasonable, I'll praise a Liberal program if it works in my riding, but say the big cities still haven't delivered. I want to use federal money as leverage to make local governments do what we want. The Liberals just throw money at cities for a photo op and get nothing real.”
“I agree with you, but let me pile on more blame for my own reasons. The feds caused the housing crisis by letting in too many immigrants. They started a fire then they ran to the rescue with fancy programs. Do they ever fix what they break? No, they just roll out more programs we can't even tell will work.”
“I agree, the government caused this crisis. Liberals keep throwing money at the problem. They hand out cash for photo ops, but don't fix anything. Toronto got $471 million, then jacked up fees 40%. Typical. All this spending just makes things worse.”
“Liberals promised to cut development charges in half, but they didn't. Those fees make houses expensive. Now CMHC says high fees block new housing. The government broke its promise. Useless. This won't get Canadians the houses they need.”
“Thanks. You've raised a good point. The government hasn't reduced development fees like it promised. There's a program to reduce these fees, but only if municipalities apply for it. Municipalities might not apply because they like high fees. Fees stay high, nothing changes. Conservatives would force municipalities to reduce fees. We'd give them money for infrastructure, but it would depend on results, not just hopes.”
“I worked with you on the committee. You asked good questions. But now you're saying things that don't match what we heard there. Promoters and developers told us this bill helps. More affordable homes will lower market pressure. CMHC's head said they work together and this bill helps. CMHC could maybe do this work but it would take them time. Can you really say we didn't hear all that at committee?”
“I like you. But you have a Liberal problem. You hear what you want to hear. Builders and developers will use what you give them. But they said they wouldn't create this agency. They don't love Build Canada Homes. They're just going to work with what the government gives them. The CMHC head said they weren't set up for this. But CMHC scaled up before. Why can't they scale up again? Why do we need a fourth federal housing bureaucracy?”
“You say you want to make housing cheaper. But building codes are making houses $115,000 more expensive. Maybe you should fix that instead of making a whole new bureaucracy.”
“My friend is right. I know about building houses and I don't like the building codes. Those codes make houses too expensive. The codes are written by lobbyists, not by real builders. The government should fix this and make houses cheaper.”
“I'm saying goodbye. I worked hard and got some things done. I disagreed with my party sometimes. All politicians should be more independent and honest. I hope future politicians do better and fix the country's problems.”
“I want people to think I'm good at boldly pushing for new ideas while also building consensus. I know those two things conflict sometimes. I want everyone to wish me well as I figure out how to balance that.”
“I want my friend to stay and push progressive politics. He fights animal cruelty. I hope the government spends more on progressive things. He helped me spend money in my riding. Good job being persistent. Come visit. Thanks.”
“I like my friend. We worked together. We agree on more rules for tech companies. He made reports. So do I. Busy work looks good. We make companies talk to us. Maybe it all helps people. It looks good on us.”
“I'm a shameless politician who likes getting elected. I do what makes the government's agenda. I got the government to pass my drug policy. I talked to important people and made them listen.”
“I'm attacking the Conservative Party. They don't understand how to fix housing. They don't support our good housing bills. The government should spend more money on housing.”
“I'm filling time by saying I don't understand why Conservatives won't support spending more of your money to fix housing. They must not care about Canadians. Let's throw more cash at it and hope that helps.”
