“The government is failing to build the homes it promised, and young people cannot afford to buy a house. The Conservative plan will cut taxes and tie federal money to building permits. How can the minister say housing is getting more affordable?”

“Mr. Speaker, Liane, a grandmother from Pefferlaw, wrote me and said, “our grandkids can’t imagine ever owning a home.” That is the story of a generation: no hope. The Prime Minister promised to build 500,000 new homes a year, but his own housing agency says he will be hundreds of thousands short, and fewer homes will be built this year than last year. Our Conservative plan will save Canadians money on housing by tying federal funding to permits and cutting taxes. How can the minister claim housing affordability is improving with fewer houses and the next generation shut out?”

“The government failed to build the homes it promised, and housing is getting less affordable. I want the minister to tie federal money to faster building permits so homes get built quicker.”

“Mr. Speaker, 19,000 homes out of a promised 500,000 is a failure, and affordability has not improved. In fact, Statistics Canada reported yesterday that one in four Canadians lives in unaffordable housing. That is an increase of 22%. Things are getting worse; they are not getting better. What is worse is that StatsCan says rising housing costs squeeze family budgets. More rent payments and more mortgage payments mean more difficult decisions at the grocery store. We have offered a positive solution: save Canadians money on housing by speeding up permits, tying that to federal dollars. Why will the minister not do that?”