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Mario Simard

Bloc Québécois 7:05 p.m.

“I want the money in this bill because it sends federal cash straight to provinces without attaching new structures or plans. I'll cheer for the $1.7 billion transfer but I still think the federal government interferes too much in provincial business. The federal government taxes too much and wants to attach strings instead of just sending provinces the money and letting them handle it. Their job is to just send money to provinces, not make lots of new plans.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Mirabel, the one they call “the MP with the golden voice”, just like little Joselito, and whom the people of Alto call “le député du petit train de l'amour”. It is a pleasure to speak today to express the Bloc Québécois's support for Bill C-26. The Bloc Québécois has often advocated for an unconditional transfer of $1.7 billion to the provinces and territories and that is what this bill provides. This money will go directly to the territories to address the major housing crisis we are currently facing, without going through any new structures. That is the best part, that this money is not going through new structures, action plans, or some sort of federal entity as we saw with Build Canada Homes. Not long ago, in fact, I rose to speak to Build Canada Homes. We quickly realized that although this initiative had its appeal, with $7.3 billion to invest, it was slowing down social housing construction. I gave the example, in my riding, of a group called Loge m'entraide, which received funds from the SHQ, or Société d'habitation du Québec, for a major project, and was waiting for an answer about the federal government's contribution through the affordable housing fund. As often happens with federal initiatives, CMHC's affordable housing fund was set aside with assurances that a new initiative was on the way. The new initiative never materialized and had to be picked up by Build Canada Homes, with the result that the Loge m'entraide project is now in limbo. However, that is not what we are seeing with Bill C-26. It provides a direct transfer to the provinces, as we have been calling for, rather than, as is often the case with the federal government, a proliferation of top-down structures and criteria imposed by Ottawa, without Ottawa necessarily being familiar with the specific challenges faced by the provinces and municipalities. We have said many times that the federal government should instead focus on straightforward, unconditional and predictable transfers to the provinces. That is what we are seeing with Bill C‑26, I might add. However, my job is certainly not to sing the government’s praises, so I would like to take this opportunity to address a glaring problem: federal interference in areas of provincial jurisdiction. Why can I do this in the context of Bill C-26? Because it is, in a way, the exception that proves the rule. There is something glaringly obvious when we look at this bill and past legislation in the context of Canadian federalism. I do not need to talk about predatory federalism, which we have often seen and involves an encroachment on areas of jurisdiction, but there is something glaringly obvious in the fact that the federal government has repeatedly acted in an unjust and unfair manner when transferring funds. This gives me an opportunity to once again address the most glaring injustice in the federation: the fiscal imbalance. We need to talk about this again because the reason the government can transfer $1.7 billion dollars at this point is that it has the fiscal capacity to do so. It has that fiscal capacity because of the fiscal imbalance. It has more revenue than expenses. What I mean by the fiscal imbalance is quite simple. Virtually all of the public services governments are required to provide are delivered by the provinces and Quebec, yet the federal government's tax base allows it to collect 60% of the total tax revenue. Essentially, the provinces and Quebec provide most of the services, such as education, health care and social programs, to name just a few, but the federal government's social mandate is typically limited to old age security benefits and family benefits. Note that employment insurance is not included because the employment insurance fund is not financed through taxation. It is funded by employers and workers. The federal government has no social mission and a lot of revenue. The provinces and Quebec have a lot of social missions, a lot of spending and little revenue. That is the fiscal imbalance at work. That is why, year in and year out, over the past 10 to 15 years, the government has had to focus on transfer programs to the provinces. These transfers were often accompanied by the federal government's involvement in areas of jurisdiction that it knew very little about, through strategies that were not always efficient. We have seen examples of that. Like me, we have experienced that. We could talk about the dental insurance program, which was a disaster. However, the worst disaster in the federation is the fiscal imbalance, which mainly affects health care. I want to emphasize that point because it seems to me that we have not talked about it in a while. If memory serves, 1969 is when the public health care system was put in place. For every dollar invested in health care, 50¢ came from the provinces and 50¢ came from the federal government. The Bloc Québécois has fought this battle. We have come back to this issue on numerous occasions over the past few years because barely 22% of today's funding for our health care systems comes from the federal government. When only 22% of funding comes from the federal government, this implies that the remainder is borne by the provinces. Health care is the Quebec government's most important responsibility and the largest budget item. Looking at the current projections, it quickly becomes clear that between 42% and 45% of the Quebec government's total budget is devoted to a single responsibility: health care. This means that there is just over 50% of the budget left to cover all the government's other responsibilities such as education, the fight against poverty, the needs of local authorities, infrastructure requirements or support for Quebeckers. The federal government sometimes implements industrial strategies to support businesses, but they are not always appropriate. Allow me to give a rather striking example. We are currently experiencing one of the worst slumps in Canada's economic history due to our relations with the United States. The two hardest hit sectors are Quebec's forestry industry and the aluminum sector. The situation in Quebec's forestry industry is the worst. With the combination of countervailing duties, anti-dumping duties and additional tariffs of 10%, 45% of these companies' profit margins are going right down the drain. They have no access to them given the tariff issue with the United States. The other major problem affects the aluminum industry, which is being hit with 50% tariffs. What was the federal government's strategic response? It said that we needed to export more energy. That is rather shocking. The strategic response of the level of government with the greatest fiscal capacity was not to look at which sectors were most affected. Instead, the government looked at what opportunities were available to it. The government had an opportunity to advance the energy sector, one of its primary missions. It therefore chose to support the oil and gas industry, even though that industry was not affected by the crisis. It is true. The oil and gas industry is the only one that has not been affected by the crisis. Here is what I find even more shocking. When we look at the ownership structure of the oil and gas industry, we see that most of the companies belong to Americans. The federal government has therefore decided to invest Quebeckers' money in strategies aimed at supporting the only sector of the economy that is harming Quebec. This is an example of one of the federal government's major investments. This is of direct concern to the member for Lac-Saint-Jean, since he arrived just as I was talking about that. The federal government is making this investment using its fiscal capacity, but it is hurting Quebec. We will therefore take the $1.7 billion, since it is being paid out unconditionally, but once again it strikes me as a counter-example that proves that we are in a predatory federalist system. I would love to hear the member for Winnipeg North contradict what I just said.

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Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Liberal 7:15 p.m.

“I'm glad you finally agree with a federal bill. See, the federal government sending money directly to provinces is good! Never mind that you used to say it interferes too much. The federal system helps us spread money around fairly.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to hear that the Bloc sees the merit in voting for Bill C-26. He might want to revisit the whole health equation and also factor that into discussions that have taken place where there were tax points transfers in favour of fewer cash transfers back in the late seventies or early eighties. I might be a little bit off on the years there, but that should also be taken into consideration. Having said that, since equalization payments came into existence, my home province of Manitoba has been a recipient. One of the nice things with Canada being part of a federal system is that there is a sense of fairness in the different regions through equalization payments. I, for one, look at Manitoba, which has been a very big beneficiary of equalization payments—

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Mario Simard

Bloc Québécois 7:15 p.m.

“I want to defend equalization payments to Quebec. I feel Alberta already gets plenty of Quebec's money. I don't like that the government bought a pipeline.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, that is a new one. I did not see that coming. Equalization payments must be calculated on a per capita basis, and there are more people in Quebec than in Manitoba. I would urge my colleague, the member for Winnipeg North, to take into account the fact that, every year, the Quebec government runs a trade deficit with the oil-producing provinces. Every year, the Quebec government probably sends far more money to Alberta than Albertans can send to Quebec. As for the major investments that were made—yes, it is not a surprise—if the government had not used $34 billion to buy a pipeline and instead made major investments in any other economy, we might be in a different situation today. We have paid for our energy infrastructure. It was Quebec, it was Hydro-Québec, that paid for its own energy infrastructure. It was not the entire federation. That is worse than equalization.

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Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Liberal 7:20 p.m.

“I want to say Manitoba is just as worthy of equalization as Quebec. I want the member to agree equalization is good. I'm not trying to make this about Quebec versus Manitoba.”

Mario Simard

Bloc Québécois 7:20 p.m.

“I want Quebec to be independent. Then we could spend our own money on our own priorities without Canada telling us what to do. Canada makes us fund things we don't need like energy instead of what we really want.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the greatest benefit anyone can have in life is political autonomy. My neighbour is not the one who decides what I do with my earnings, how I use that money, how I will make it grow. I am the one who makes those decisions. As I said earlier, politically, we are subject to a level of government that makes decisions that are contrary to our best interest. The government's response to the tariff crisis is one example of that. The only sector with no tariffs is the energy sector. All of the government's strategies focus on the energy sector, and that is what Quebeckers' money is being used for. This proves that the only way to succeed is to have political autonomy, and the only way we can achieve that is through independence.

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Jean-Denis Garon

Bloc Québécois 7:20 p.m.

“Canada spends money to make other provinces rich from oil. That makes Quebec need equalization money even more. It's a trap that keeps Quebec dependent on Canada.”

Mario Simard

Bloc Québécois 7:20 p.m.

“I want to be very clear: this is a trap. Everyone knows it's a trap. You can even look up how it works. It's called 'Dutch disease'. Quebec lost jobs because of oil money making the dollar go up. Quebec paid the price. I remember when the NDP leader used to talk about this. But then he got a taste of power and he stopped caring about Dutch disease.”

Jean-Denis Garon

Bloc Québécois 7:20 p.m.

“I'm going to say lots of words about how the government is managing things badly. But at the end, I'm actually going to say I support this bill. Because it gives money to Quebec with no strings attached.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge all the brave men and women who are here tonight and who will be staying up late. I was joking around earlier with my colleague and neighbour, the member for Rivière-des-Mille-Îles. All kidding aside, I think that she knows that I really like her. I mentioned behavioural issues because she was talking really loudly. However, we really like hearing her voice. That said, she still plans to support a closure motion. She is still going to vote in favour of it. This is not the first closure motion that we have debated. As Parliament winds down for the summer, ever since the government managed to scrape together a majority by poaching members from the Conservatives and the NDP, it has imposed closure on not one, two, three, four or five bills, but nine. The government is likely going to keep Parliament in session until very late this Friday. That is okay because it is our job to be here. However, this is happening because the government is not communicating with the opposition parties properly. It is not managing its work in the House properly, and it is having a hard time setting its priorities. The government has even introduced closure on Bill C-22. This is a bill that could be highly detrimental to Canadians' privacy and that will, in a sense, give the police access to our phones and our private data. Everyone understands that the legal framework needs to evolve, but imposing closure on this today is not something we were expecting. This is preventing serious parliamentary work from being carried out, yet I do not believe there was any real urgency. This is not the economic update. This is not tax legislation. The same thing happened with Bill C-30. The government turned up in committee. I agree that not all the proposed amendments were sound. However, when the first Conservative amendment was moved, after barely two minutes of debate, the government made its position very clear. Through the member for Whitby, it made it known that no amendments would be tolerated, that the government now had a majority and that, ultimately, committee time serves only a superficial purpose. The government is muzzling debate on important issues. One example is Bill C‑30. Right now, the government is telling us that it was elected, that it has a job to do, that it has an agenda. The new government, which is now almost 11 years old, says it was elected with a job to do. Now, the government is changing the law on pesticides to allow cabinet to make decisions that go against the science on pesticides. I am sure that there are plenty of great people in cabinet. However, there are no pesticide specialists or scientists who have conducted studies on the subject. The Green Party member came to talk to us about this in committee. She clearly explained that, when it comes to pesticides and the environment, this bill is the most regressive and the most damaging to human health and safety since possibly the 1970s. That was not in the Liberals' election platform. Privatizing airports to funnel money into their so-called sovereign wealth fund, which does not have a single penny in it, was not part of their campaign platform. Allowing air passenger complaints to be outsourced to private sector companies chosen by the Minister of Transportation, who is himself buddies with the airlines, which may even choose the companies that will handle complaints about them, was not part of the Liberals' platform. Even though filibusters may sometimes be necessary in cases of parliamentary deadlock, members of Parliament must still be allowed to do their jobs. They must be given the chance to do their jobs. Closure is a measure of last resort that is imposed when there is a genuine deadlock. After all, there is a reason why it exists in the rules. However, it is not meant to be imposed eight, nine, 10, or 11 times in two or three days simply because the government has not done its job properly. I said it was not doing its job properly, so I will give some examples. Bill C-26 is one such example. Then there is Bill C-31. People need to understand that when a bill is introduced, opposition members must study it. To study it, they must be able to ask public servants very technical questions to have the bill's clauses explained to them. This is called a technical briefing. These briefings are generally provided shortly after we receive the bill, so that we can do our jobs. When the Liberals imposed closure on Bill C-31, we had been asking the Department of Finance for a briefing for three weeks. We had not received a reply. Eventually, we were given a briefing on a Thursday, I believe, while everyone was attending committee meetings and almost none of the critics were able to attend. The following Monday, the Liberals introduced a closure motion. They claim that there is filibustering happening and that closure motions are necessary, but that is simply not the case. Now, we are in the same position with Bill C-26. We agree that Bill C-26 provides for unconditional payments to Quebec. This is rare; we welcome it and believe it is a sound approach. However, we have been asking for a technical briefing on Bill C-26 for about two months now. For two months, we have wanted to study and understand it, and now we are being hit with time allocation. We finally came to understand it during consideration of the estimates. I was there for consideration of the estimates, and so was the Minister of Finance. There were many questions about this. At this point, we are taking the minister's word for it that he has reached an agreement with Quebec and that, based on this agreement, Quebec will receive its share of the funds, no strings attached. However, we had no way of knowing this from reading the bill. I had to stand up in committee of the whole to ask the Minister of Finance whether he intended to transfer the funds to Quebec with no strings attached. Only once we got answers in committee of the whole were we able to continue our own consideration of the bill. The bill states that the “amount of each payment is to be determined by the Minister”. This means that, once Bill C‑26 is passed, the Minister of Finance can get up tomorrow morning and decide how much to pay each government. He has the right to do whatever he wants with this money; it is at his discretion. The bill also states that amounts are to be paid out “at the times and in the manner that the Minister...considers appropriate.” Now we find ourselves in a situation where we have a vague bill, and we are realizing, after months, that the intent is there, that negotiations are happening, but also that our questions were legitimate. What is more, the explanations we got so we could understand this bill came from a press release. We had to pore over the press release to try to understand the government's intentions. It was almost like analyzing a religious text. Despite all that, we are in favour of Bill C‑26. However, the government is telling us that there is interference, that there is work to be done, that they need to move quickly, that this is very important and that the opposition is blocking the process. That is not what is happening in this case. What we have here is a case of poor management of House of Commons time and poor management of committees by the office of the government House leader. I should point out that Quebec is the only province with permanent social and community housing construction programs. In Quebec, the definition of “social and community housing” differs from the definition of “affordable housing” used by programs in the rest of Canada. When it came to programs managed by CMHC, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, with the possible exception of the rapid housing initiative, Quebec rarely received its share because these programs focused on high-rise apartment buildings in cities in the rest of Canada. During the minute of time that I have left, I wish to say that under the current circumstances, with the construction and community ecosystems that are familiar with Quebec's programs, what is being done here today is important. It is important to recognize that the most effective approach for these programs is to take 20% or 22% of the amount and pay it directly to Quebec. I will end by saying that this would prevent the Liberals from doing what they did with Canada's national housing strategy, in other words, setting tons of conditions like the Trudeau government did and ending up in negotiations for three or four years, while we miss out on tens of thousands of completed housing units. We are pleased that the minister has agreed to pay Quebec its share. We are convinced that it will lead to housing starts on the ground and benefit Quebeckers.

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Linda Lapointe

Liberal 7:30 p.m.

“I want you to agree with our bill. Say that our bill to spend money will be good for housing.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague, the member for Mirabel, a riding to the north of my riding. I really enjoy his sense of humour and quick wit. I like that in my colleagues. My colleague just told me a short while ago that he is leaning slightly in favour of Bill C‑26, an act to authorize certain payments to be made out of the consolidated revenue fund for the purpose of improving housing supply. It would indeed allow housing construction to move forward as quickly as possible. I would like to know what my colleague thinks about that, considering that this is federal legislation. We are in a federation. What are his thoughts on this matter, since we will be able to build housing faster in the provinces, the territories and his riding, Mirabel?

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Jean-Denis Garon

Bloc Québécois 7:30 p.m.

“The federal government is bad at building houses. Quebec knows how to spend money on houses. The federal government should give money to Quebec and let Quebec spend it. That is what happened before and it worked.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, as I said, this is one of those rare instances where Quebec will get its share of the cash, and it is a sign of recognition that the federal government is not good at this, not good at building things. The federal government is not on the ground; it is a government that is far removed from immediate matters. This is a case in point, where Quebec must negotiate with Ottawa and go cap in hand to get its own money and put it into its own programs, which are already working. That was the case with the national housing strategy when it was still around. Negotiations went on for three and a half years, while housing was being built everywhere else. An agreement was eventually reached, and only then did housing units begin to be built. This dates back to the Trudeau era, and these housing units are just now being announced. It is not so much that we are in favour of the federal government getting involved. We are in favour of the federal government writing a cheque. Quebec is the only province with permanent programs to build social community housing. It is important to recognize that the federal government is not good at this, but that Ottawa unfortunately has the financial resources. It takes a cheque.

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Kurt Holman

Conservative 7:30 p.m.

“You're supporting a bill that hands the government $1.7 billion with no strings attached. Don't you see how this is a problem?”

Jean-Denis Garon

Bloc Québécois 7:35 p.m.

“I'm supporting this bill because Quebec gets money with no strings attached. I don't care what the rest of Canada does.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I explained that in what my colleague referred to as my wonderful speech. I explained that, when we were looking at the estimates, I asked the Minister of Finance a question, and he answered it. I asked him whether he had negotiated with Quebec and whether he was committed to ensuring that Quebec would receive its share of funding with no strings attached. What we understood from the minister's answer and from our interactions with the department is that the government was taking into account the unique nature of Quebec's housing construction ecosystem this time and for this particular bill. The Bloc Québécois always asks the government to send Quebec transfers with no strings attached, and we make a huge fuss when the government refuses to do so. However, when the government decides to transfer the money with no strings attached, when it recognizes that the matter falls under Quebec's exclusive jurisdiction and that Quebec is better at managing it, then we support the government. Then, the other nine provinces and territories can figure out the rest on their own.

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Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe

Bloc Québécois 7:35 p.m.

“The Liberals compared their Canada Strong fund to the sovereign wealth funds of Norway and Saudi Arabia. I don't think that's a fair comparison. I want my colleague to explain why he thinks the funds are different, because I believe the government misled people.”

Jean-Denis Garon

Bloc Québécois 7:35 p.m.

“The sovereign wealth fund the Liberals announced was just an empty slogan. It doesn't actually have any money and it serves no economic purpose. The government looked foolish and people who know about these things didn't like it.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, that is a complicated question. There are all sorts of sovereign wealth funds. Every country has them. Norway's fund is used to accumulate oil revenues to benefit future generations, but above all to invest the money abroad in order to avoid Dutch disease. The same goes for Saudi Arabia. Also, China has funds that are used to influence geopolitics. However, all the funds that actually work share one characteristic, and that is that they contain money. In our case, under sections 91 and 92 of the Constitution, natural resources are the exclusive property of the provinces. If there were sovereign wealth funds, they would be held by the provinces. This whole thing was just another excuse to make an announcement and slap “Canada strong” on something. In the end, it serves no economic purpose. That is why it was very poorly received by economists, commentators and people who will not benefit from it directly. The government looked a bit foolish because of it.

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Chi Nguyen

Liberal 7:35 p.m.

“I'm in favor of Bill C-26. It would spend money from the consolidated revenue fund to make it easier to build more homes. I want more homes built because people in my densely populated riding need them. I think the bill would help by giving $1.7 billion to provinces and territories to help remove barriers to homebuilding. It would also help keep skilled workers employed in construction. The housing crisis won't be solved overnight but this bill is an important step.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Winnipeg North. I rise today in the chamber in support of Bill C-26, an act to authorize certain payments to be made out of the consolidated revenue fund for the purpose of improving housing supply. At its heart, this bill is intended to make it easier for Canada to build more homes and the kinds of communities where people can truly live. For many Canadians, housing is not an abstract policy issue. When we think about housing, we must consider it as the starting place for the way Canadians imagine their future, where workers can live close to their jobs; seniors can remain close to their communities and age in place; and young people can rent, own or raise a family. This is an issue that even my preteen son is thinking about, wondering how he can remain in the city he loves. It comes as no surprise that global economic pressures have reshaped the housing market. Rising construction costs, labour shortages and wages that have not kept pace with inflation have all contributed to the challenges we face today. We know that without secure housing, it is impossible to plan for the future, to build stability or to fully participate in Canada's economy. I see this clearly in my riding of Spadina—Harbourfront. Spadina—Harbourfront is one of the densest communities in this country. It is a riding of high-rises, condominiums, co-operatives, rental buildings, shelters, supportive housing, student housing and seniors housing. This is a place where people live vertically. They share public space, rely on transit, walk to work, gather in parks, hang out at STACKT market, the Waterworks Food Hall, One Love market, Sugar Beach or The Island Cafe, and build community in ways that are deeply urban and deeply Canadian. In my riding, I see the beauty and possibility of density every day. Density can mean a senior is better able to live closer to health care, groceries and neighbours who can check in. It can mean that a young person can walk to school or work. It can also mean that families can share playgrounds, libraries, community centres and waterfront spaces. Just last weekend, the waterfront was vibrating with excitement as we welcomed the world for the FIFA World Cup, with thousands cheering for Canada right from their condo balconies and watching the crowds gather in the streets. We could live in communities with less sprawl, stronger transit and more vibrant main streets. Vertical living can work when we plan for people instead of units. We see examples of this across our community. Harbour Square, for example, has long shown how vertical communities can include shared services, including shuttle services that help residents move through the city and remain connected. Across the riding, we see buildings where neighbours organize, support one another, share amenities and create a real sense of belonging. This is the kind of city building we should be learning from. We also know the best housing solutions do not come from government alone. They come from housing co-operatives that show us that affordability, stability and community ownership go hand in hand. They can also come from organizations like Eva's Initiatives, which supports young people experiencing homelessness and reminds us that housing is not only about a roof, but about safety, connection, trust and the chance to rebuild a life. The best housing solutions also come from thoughtful public planning, like the work of Waterfront Toronto, which has shown that the when we build with intention, we can create communities that include housing, transit, parks, public space, climate resilience and access to water. This is the vision that we need more of in Canada: not just buildings, but more homes where people feel they have complete communities. The housing crisis has also placed enormous pressure on the construction sector. In the greater Toronto area, new home sales fell to just over 5,300 units in 2025, which is the lowest level in more than 45 years. That slowdown has already led to job losses in the skilled trades and construction sector. These are the very workers Canada needs if we are going to build the houses people are counting on. Approximately 80,000 people are leaving the GTA because of affordability pressures. A study by Altus Group for the Building Industry and Land Development Association found that without urgent action, nearly half of all residential construction jobs in the region could be at risk and housing starts could fall by more than 60% compared to 2024 levels. We must act in order to protect housing supply and keep skilled workers on the job. We must make it easier to build, to build quickly and to build well. Through Bill C-26, our government is proposing to provide $1.7 billion to provinces and territories immediately so they can implement measures to increase Canada's housing supply. This funding is designed to help remove the barriers slowing down homebuilding, including by lowering development charges, fees, levies or sales taxes on new homes. It would also support efforts to harmonize rules, improve internal trade and increase productivity in the residential construction sector. At a time when the housing market is under real pressure, this bill would keep projects moving, maintain construction activity, protect skilled jobs and unlock the homes Canadians urgently need. Fixing Canada's housing issues will require a wide range of solutions and, above all, close collaboration. No single order of government can solve the housing crisis alone. The strongest housing systems are built when public, private, non-profit and community partners are all at the table. We are already seeing what that collaboration can look like. In March, the federal government and the Province of Ontario signed a historic partnership agreement to build homes, transit and communities, backed by $8.8 billion in joint funding over 10 years. This agreement supports housing-enabling infrastructure and helps reduce the cost of building new homes. It includes support for municipalities that reduce and maintain low development charges. This includes an HST rebate to incentivize new home construction and support for major transit projects to connect people to jobs and services. Ontario's removal of the full 13% HST for eligible buyers of new homes valued up to $1 million, for one year from April 2026 to March 2027, is one example of what this kind of partnership can make possible. Through Bill C-26, our government has agreed to cover the 5% federal portion of that HST relief. This is a practical measure because it supports near-term construction activity while longer-term work continues to lower the cost of building homes. Since that announcement, new home sales in the GTA have begun to recover. In April alone, approximately 1,100 new homes were sold, nearly triple the number sold during the same period last year. In Toronto, housing and infrastructure must be planned together. This is why investments like the waterfront east transit project are so important. This project will connect communities such as East Bayfront, the Port Lands and Ookwemin Minising. It is not only a transit investment, but a housing strategy. Good transit helps unlock new neighbourhoods and connects people to work, school, child care and community. It supports the construction of thousands of new homes in places where people can live with dignity and connection. We are also moving forward with Build Canada Homes, an ambitious initiative to accelerate homebuilding across the country, including transitional, supportive and deeply affordable housing. This program includes a $13-billion initial investment, the development of federal lands, support for factory-built housing and measures to preserve long-term affordability. It is already supporting thousands of new units and has the potential to deliver tens of thousands more. The legislation before us would give these efforts the flexibility and tools they need to accelerate delivery, take on risk responsibly and build the housing Canadians are counting on. In a city like Toronto, where affordability remains one of our greatest challenges, this kind of relief can make a meaningful difference. It helps more buyers enter the market and supports the construction of the homes we so urgently need. This why this bill is so important. It is a measure that has been called for by housing advocates, including organizations like BILD, and it represents a clear win for builders, workers and residents in my riding. Canada's housing market is going through a period of adjustment, but that does not change the reality that we are facing a structural housing supply shortage. Our government has been clear: We will build more homes faster and more boldly. Bill C-26's purpose is to support housing supply, protect Canadian jobs and maintain capacity in the construction sector. By acting now, we can keep construction activity moving, retain skilled workers and ensure that builders can continue to plan and launch new projects at a time when that continuity is critical. The housing crisis did not happen overnight and it will not be solved overnight, but the choices we make today will shape the future of housing in this country for generations to come. Our government is here today working to provide Canadians with the tools they need to build that stability. Bill C-26 is one important step toward that goal. We are taking meaningful action to address one of the most pressing challenges facing Canadians today. We are working closely with provinces, territories and municipalities, because we know that collaboration is essential in a moment like this. In Spadina—Harbourfront, I see every day that density can be beautiful, that vertical living can be full of community and that good planning can help people build real lives in the heart of a city. This is the future we should be building toward. For that reason, I urge all members to support Bill C-26.

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Tony Baldinelli

Conservative 7:45 p.m.

“The bill gives a blank cheque to spend $1.7 billion with no guarantees. We don't know how the rebate program will work. I want the member to tell us how it will work.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-26 gives the Liberal Minister of Finance a blank cheque to spend $1.7 billion with no guarantees of results, targets or accountability to build homes. In fact, the word “housing” is in this bill only twice. My hon. colleague mentioned the rebate program, the program that was signed with the Province of Ontario, yet there is no specific program put in place through regulation on how that rebate will work. That is my understanding. I have had developers call me as late as last week. They cannot find out from the Ontario government how the rebate works. When they are told by the province to go to the CRA, the CRA is telling them it does not know how this program works. Perhaps the member can tell us how this rebate program will work.

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Chi Nguyen

Liberal 7:45 p.m.

“I'm filling time with kind words and not answering the question about how the rebate works.”

Sébastien Lemire

Bloc Québécois 7:45 p.m.

“I want more federal money for my riding. I don't like that downtown Toronto got it instead.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I find it ironic that the member from downtown Toronto gave a speech on the challenge of access to housing and housing construction, because I get the impression that, for the last 30 years, the federal government has been doing nothing but building housing in downtown Toronto. In rural regions like mine, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, it is virtually impossible to access any federal programs that operate in rural areas. Ask any member who represents a rural area more than 200 kilometres from the U.S. border, and they will say that they struggle to access any federal housing programs that actually work. That said, I would be curious to put the question to my colleague from Spadina—Harbourfront. Before entering politics, she was an activist for democracy in her professional life, particularly regarding the role of women in democracy. Did she get into politics to vote to shut down the debate one, two, three, four, five, six, seven or nearly ten times? I would like to hear her comments on that, because this bill will also be passed under time allocation.

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Chi Nguyen

Liberal 7:45 p.m.

“When people complain about rural housing, I talk about a northern program instead. That program will spend money. I want to cheer for that program. I want the government to look good. I think more spending will help the country.”

Dominique O'Rourke

Liberal 7:50 p.m.

“My friend ignored your question. I want you to answer it. I want to cheer for moving quickly. I think this is an emergency. I want the government to look good.”

What they said. What they meant.

Recent debates

Government Business No. 11—Proceedings on Bill C‑26

Mario Simard

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Mario Simard

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Mario Simard

Jean-Denis Garon

Mario Simard

Jean-Denis Garon

Linda Lapointe

Jean-Denis Garon

Kurt Holman

Jean-Denis Garon

Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe

Jean-Denis Garon

Chi Nguyen

Tony Baldinelli

Chi Nguyen

Sébastien Lemire

Chi Nguyen

Dominique O'Rourke