Gregor Robertson
Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, British Columbia · Liberal · Canada
“Mr. Speaker, the member opposite well knows that I have appeared before HUMA a number of times to talk about the initiatives we have, as a government, to get affordable housing going, to get Build Canada Homes up and running as a Crown corporation so that it can drive the pace in getting affordable housing built. I have been at HUMA.”
“Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to our predecessors here in the House, there is about 40 years of history of the Government of Canada's neglecting to invest enough in affordable housing. That is what has created the housing crisis today. It has been built up over decades by governments of all stripes.”
“Mr. Speaker, I agree with the member. The importance of getting this done is urgent. Really, the example in Ontario is what we are working with. It shows the difference this can make on the ground for the housing market, homebuyers and home builders in Ontario, who need to get going on building more supply.”
“Mr. Speaker, we absolutely cannot forget about the important housing needs in smaller communities. Rural Canada faces many of the same challenges in terms of affordability and housing supply. Particularly in the north, housing supply is a huge challenge.”
“Mr. Speaker, well, I have a very simple question for the members opposite: Do they support working with the Government of Ontario to eliminate the HST for one year on new homes up to $1 million? This is exactly what Ontario is doing with the funding related to this housing supply bill. This is exactly what it is doing.”
“Mr. Speaker, I would say to the member opposite that we need to look at the Ontario example of how this funding is being used. The Ontario government has chosen to deploy it for eliminating the HST for this year to get its housing market going.”
The complete record
Every one of 343 lines we hold for Gregor Robertson, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 2 of 7.
“Mr. Speaker, thanks to Build Canada Homes, we are putting in place new tools to accelerate housing construction, leverage public land and support innovative constructive methods. Today, the House has the opportunity to support the bill on Build Canada Homes, and I encourage all members to vote in favour of this important measure to help us build more affordable housing in communities across Canada.”
“Mr. Speaker, as a British Columbian like the member opposite, I will say that people in B.C. are optimistic about our future, like we are on this side of the House. We see major projects coming to B.C. that are going to boost our economy in B.C. We see rents coming down. We see affordability coming back to the table. We see benefits to British Columbians that the other side of the House has opposed every step of the way, whether to our youth or to our young workers. We are interested in taking action right across the country to support Canadians, grow the economy and deliver affordability, not being stuck in the mud.”
“Madam Speaker, certainly, indigenous housing is a really important component of what Build Canada Homes is delivering and will continue to deliver. The floor for investment in indigenous housing in Build Canada Homes is 10% of the capital there for affordable housing. There are many proposals coming in from indigenous home builders. We look forward to seeing Build Canada Homes supporting projects. There is a huge opportunity. We saw this in the Nunavut and Yukon territories, where the majority of the population is indigenous. That housing will obviously be delivered by the territorial governments, but it will benefit indigenous residents. We are going to see a lot of proposals and partnerships with first nations and Inuit and Métis people as well.”
“It makes it much more streamlined for Build Canada Homes to be able to invest, knowing that the province is overseeing that portfolio, and many communities are being served at the same time. I give a big thanks to New Brunswick for leading the way on that and to the members for supporting that.”
“Madam Speaker, I thank the member for her leadership on behalf of New Brunswick. Like the members of Parliament from New Brunswick, we are very encouraging of Build Canada Homes and New Brunswick partnering to maximize the opportunity to build affordable housing across New Brunswick. The Government of New Brunswick has been a leader, as the member said, in being one of the first provinces to step forward. As I mentioned earlier, with the opportunity to build in communities of all shapes and sizes, the province has put together projects across New Brunswick. It is bringing that portfolio forward and will help manage the delivery of that housing, which is fantastic.”
“That is our focus with Build Canada Homes, making sure we do everything we can to use Canadian materials, to strengthen Canadian homebuilding and manufacturing, right into the forest industry. I am working in collaboration with the Minister of Industry and the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources to make sure we are maximizing that opportunity and supporting that industry.”
“Madam Speaker, I appreciate the member's concern around softwood. We see enormous opportunity with Build Canada Homes to focus on building with Canadian wood. That would benefit our industries from B.C. to Quebec and New Brunswick, provinces that rely heavily on softwood and forestry. We have real opportunities to scale up the value-added industry and make sure we are protecting jobs with softwood here in Canada. Buy Canadian is a key element with Build Canada Homes. That has gone into the investment criteria. We are seeing proposals come in that would use Canadian wood to build. We want to see, in the manufacturing sector, mass timber and value-added products built with Canadian wood.”
“We want to also leverage opportunity across affordable rental housing and co-op housing. We want to see a whole range of housing in the middle market, the so-called missing middle, delivered alongside that. It is a range of different types of projects, with different affordability, but we want to see all of that maximized for the benefit of Canadians.”
“Madam Speaker, the target is to build as much affordable housing as possible with the capital that is being provided here by the Government of Canada. There is an array of partnerships and collaborations now. There are different levels of affordability, as the member knows as a former mayor. There are projects that have deeply affordable supportive and transitional housing. Those require more investment from government, more support in terms of an equity investment to achieve that level of affordability. There is a mix of affordable rentals in many projects as well. As for setting random large targets to shoot for, we want to see the maximum amount of housing delivered. We want to see as much affordability as possible. That is the core goal for Build Canada Homes.”
“Madam Speaker, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, CMHC, will continue to focus on the market side of the housing continuum, and that is from rental housing to the mortgage insurance products it has provided for generations. It can specialize in that, and Build Canada Homes can specialize in affordable housing. We think it is important to have this separation between the two. They are very different lines of business, with very different partnerships that get put together with the provinces, territories and cities on the affordable housing side. The example of Quebec's partnership illustrates the opportunity that provinces and territories see in partnering with Build Canada Homes to get the homes delivered, and get them delivered with affordability at the core.”
“Madam Speaker, we have seen enormous uptake among the non-profit or community housing builders. I think a majority of the proposals coming into Build Canada Homes are from the community building sector and non-profits partnering with the private sector, which will do a lot of the construction and building. Those homes will be effectively operated by the non-profit sector, because they are affordable homes. In particular, I want to speak to the great uptake we have seen with transitional and supportive housing. The most important solution right now for homelessness is making sure people have access to a home that has the wraparound supports. We have a couple of thousand homes now in the works in partnership across the country for that supportive housing.”
“One is affordable housing-focused, non-market, and the second, CMHC, continues to provide support for market housing, the apartment construction loan program, the MLI select program and the research that the member opposite is discussing, which is valuable across the board for the whole housing continuum.”
“Madam Speaker, I thank the member opposite for his questions and his concerns. Build Canada Homes will be the federal government agency to deliver affordable housing. CMHC will focus on market housing. There will be two agencies right now, CMHC on the market side and Build Canada Homes on the non-market side, that will be focused on housing. The Canada Lands Company, which has been involved in housing development for the federal government, is effectively folding into Build Canada Homes with the portfolio of federal lands where affordable housing can be built. That is one component. It is basically that we are going to two agencies.”
“Madam Speaker, as the member said, we are not building affordable homes fast enough. That is why we need to have Build Canada Homes as a Crown corporation, with all of the tools, financial instruments and accountability to make sure we can build faster from the federal side. We need to have these partnerships in place. We need to make it easier for the private sector to build. We need to make sure it is faster for the cities, provinces, territories and indigenous governments to get housing built. We need to be an enabler or a catalyst. We certainly rely primarily on the private sector to do the actual construction and building. All levels of government need to be coordinated to make sure it is easier and faster to get affordable housing built.”
“That is a fantastic model for getting a lot of different types of projects, small, medium and large, built across the province. We hope to see that in many other provinces and territories.”
“Madam Speaker, we see great leadership from New Brunswick, not only with respect to the 1,500 homes that are now in the works, between Build Canada Homes and New Brunswick, but also on the manufacturing side. It is one of the leading provinces in manufacturing homes and components of buildings and homes. That is where we see the future. Certainly, New Brunswick can produce for other Atlantic provinces as well, and ship within the region, but we are seeing that opportunity with manufacturing emerging in many other parts of the country. We are also seeing opportunities, like with New Brunswick's model, where there are a lot of smaller projects in rural communities in New Brunswick that are being coordinated by New Brunswick as a province, the housing minister and his team.”
“Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his leadership in New Brunswick. The province of New Brunswick certainly has been an early adopter of manufacturing and modern methods of construction. There are many companies now set up in New Brunswick producing homes or components of homes. Some hon. members: Oh, oh!”
“Madam Speaker, there are challenging costs related to shipping anything to remote regions of Canada, and that is factored into the cost. Build Canada Homes has to factor that in when it is putting together these partnerships with provinces and territories, or with community builders in various regions around the country. The benefit of shipping manufactured components or volumetric homes is that is all that is being shipped: We are not shipping extra materials that are cut off and then turned into waste. Construction waste is the number one source of waste in solid waste landfills. We need to reduce the amount of waste in the industry, and we can do that with shipping. We have to factor in that cost. Ideally, we need to employ as many local people as we can for the assembly or installation of these homes.”
“Madam Speaker, I would ask the member to walk across the floor. I would be happy for him to come over and talk. We are here in Ottawa all the time. If he wants to be more bureaucratic and send emails, there is that, but I am here. I am here to talk about this. We are here to get housing built. That is the goal. I have certainly been approached and had conversations with many members on both sides of the House. I am certainly willing to focus on getting housing built in all the communities across Canada.”
“Madam Speaker, to the point of collaboration, we have seen fantastic uptake from provinces and territories. I mentioned Quebec moments ago and Nunavut. We have a partnership with B.C. to build 1,100 new affordable homes and 700 of those are supportive and transitional homes for those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are in partnership with Build Canada Homes for more than 1,000 homes. Right out of the gate, we have agreements with provinces and territories; Yukon and Nunavut are examples, as are Ontario and Quebec. We have opportunities to build in every province and territory right now, and existing agreements are in place. That speaks to that collaboration. I think we are seeing the interest and the uptake.”
“We see manufacturers now starting to set up in many parts of Canada to bring more efficiency to the farther regions out and bring those costs down as well.”
“Madam Speaker, costs do vary significantly across the country, certainly in the member opposite's riding and in the territories. The good news is that we have agreements now with Quebec to build, with Build Canada Homes, hundreds and hundreds of homes throughout Quebec in partnership with Quebec. As well, there are examples in Nunavut: 750 homes with the territorial Government of Nunavut and with Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the housing corporation in Nunavut that is Inuit-controlled. We have opportunities to build with provinces and territories where the cost is significantly higher. This affords an opportunity also to empower the manufacturing industry and get components of housing or volumetric housing to those remote territories and provinces.”
“Madam Speaker, the housing crisis has been decades in the making. It goes back to the federal government not taking enough action to build affordable housing and non-market housing. It goes back at least to the nineties, and arguably before that. Governments of all stripes take responsibility; governments at all levels or orders across Canada as well. Certainly, there are challenges at the local level. I served at the local level. There are challenges in approving enough, approving fast enough and approving a balanced mix with non-market. Non-market housing needs the support of provincial and federal governments. There has to be investment in that. Build Canada Homes is an excellent vehicle to fast-track, and attract private capital to, non-market housing and the affordable housing spectrum.”
“Madam Speaker, in the spring economic update there was a signal of the opportunity to work on the national model codes, the building codes for Canada, with the National Research Council, which is under the Minister of Industry. We have big opportunities across the country to ensure that building codes are more harmonized with provinces, territories and, in some cases, cities that control their own codes. We certainly have an opportunity to have a clearer set of standards around manufactured building components and to make sure that we have those standards accepted across the country, so manufacturers of wall panels, floor panels and modular homes can have an opportunity to have those products certified and accepted across the country. We see that as an important next step that is certainly related to the work we are doing.”
“That is why it is urgent that we have this agency created as a Crown corporation with the powers and accountability that enables, ensuring that we are taking action and delivering results as the Government of Canada, partnering with provinces, territories, cities and indigenous governments, and ensuring that we are delivering the affordable housing Canada needs.”
“Mr. Speaker, first and foremost, we are in a housing crisis in Canada. Affordability is a challenge for too many Canadians: finding an affordable place to live, finding a place to live at all for those who are at risk or are homeless currently. We need to take action here. This is a dedicated agency for affordable housing, for non-market housing, the supply of which is short in Canada compared to our peer countries in Europe, where there is several times more non-market housing. We need an agency that is dedicated to that. We are in a crisis.”
“moved: Motion That in relation to Bill C-20 , an act respecting the establishment of Build Canada Homes, not more than five further hours shall be allotted to the consideration at the third reading stage of the said bill; and That, at the expiry of the five hours provided for consideration at the third reading stage of the said bill, any proceedings before the House shall be interrupted, if required for the purpose of this order, and in turn every question necessary for the disposal of the said stage of the bill then under consideration shall be put forthwith and successively without further debate or amendment.”
“Mr. Speaker, we are making unprecedented investments in Canada's community infrastructure: $51 billion in the build communities strong fund, which is going into our communities for community centres, for housing-enabling infrastructure and for public transit. These are unprecedented investments to make Canada more affordable and to get jobs on the ground across Canada for our young people, with 100,000 new tradespeople who will be trained, supported by this House again. The other side of the House does not support any of this action. They are just negative. They should get with the program.”
“Mr. Speaker, we are seeing rents come down across Canada right now. We are seeing 20 straight months of rents declining, which is a positive trend. We are investing in the affordable housing that Canada needs to make sure that Canadians can afford housing. We are investing in discounts and rebates with the groceries and essentials benefit, benefits for children and food programs, across the board. This side of the House votes for affordability. That side of the House votes against it.”
“Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. Yesterday, with the Government of Quebec, we announced more than $10 billion for infrastructure and public transit. This is one of the biggest investments in the history of Quebec. We are supporting the infrastructure needed for housing construction, health care infrastructure, and public transportation projects. Now is the time to build.”
“Mr. Speaker, it is important that we recognize the critical investments we are making in Canada's economy right now to help these same people the opposition mentions. Yesterday, we announced investments in Quebec in infrastructure, including $2.5 billion in community centres, infrastructure to build more housing and to scale up our affordable housing across the country, $1 billion to be invested to upgrade our hospitals and emergency rooms, and over $6 billion to invest in public transit to help people get around affordably and to create the jobs that make this country prosperous.”
“Mr. Speaker, it is shameful to continue to hear members of the opposition fearmongering about private property rights. We, on this side of the House, stand for private property rights. We stand for reconciliation. We have appealed the case alongside the B.C. government, the government of the City of Richmond and first nations. We will continue to be there for private property owners and to work for reconciliation. The fearmongering has to stop.”
“Mr. Speaker, I had the honour of being at the BCIT, the B.C. Institute of Technology, earlier this week to talk about 100,000 jobs for young Canadians to build homes and infrastructure. The members opposite have an opportunity to support the spring economic update, which would dedicate $6 billion to training young Canadians to be part of our economy and to build the affordable housing that we need to house young Canadians. It is a great opportunity for us to build Canada strong.”
“Mr. Speaker, our spring economic update is making very smart investments and making life more affordable for Canadians. The opposition does not seem to ever want to talk about affordable housing and the success that we are having, bringing rents down for 18 months in a row. In this update, we can see up to 100,000 Canadian workers who are going to help build affordable housing for decades to come. We are going to make sure life is more affordable, especially for young Canadians looking for that first-time homebuyers' tax break and the ability to have a career building homes for Canadians.”
“Mr. Speaker, once again, Conservatives are attacking former mayors like they attack current mayors. They have no respect. For leaders of our cities and towns, leaders of our provinces and territories, leaders of our indigenous communities, they have zero respect. In my first seven years as a mayor in Vancouver, how much support did we get from the Harper Conservative government? Zero. This government is focused on partnering with cities, towns and indigenous communities and delivering the affordable housing we need.”
“Mr. Speaker, while the Conservatives may be mired in the last decade or two of failure, this government is focused on the future and delivering today. This spring update has an incredible opportunity for young Canadians. Up to 100,000 Canadians will have access to training and support to build the affordable homes and community infrastructure that this country needs to build Canada strong.”
“Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the member for University—Rosedale. Yes, we are very happy to see housing starts up 10% year to year and to see construction activity above the 10-year average, as well as seeing average rents come down for 18 consecutive months. We are seeing movement in the right direction. There is a lot more work to do. Build Canada Homes is delivering on more social, supportive and community housing, working with non-profits, co-ops and builders across the country. We are seeing progress, and we are just getting started.”
“Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her concerns about public transit. The good news is that we have expanded the opportunities for funding on public transit, not only from the Canada public transit fund, which is the first permanent dedicated public transit fund in Canadian history, but also from the build communities strong fund, which is $51 billion of funding for infrastructure in communities across Canada, all of which is eligible for public transit funding. We have grown the pot for public transit much larger. We intend to be investing aggressively, working with communities to deliver that public transit.”
“Mr. Speaker, there is exciting news this morning here in Ottawa. I was proud to be at a construction site with the Prime Minister and the mayor to announce those eight shovel-ready projects. There will be over 1,100 homes. Over 90% of those are affordable homes by the Build Canada Homes' standard. This is great news. We are building at scale. We are prioritizing projects on the ground. We are building these deep partnerships, in this case at the City of Ottawa, and looking forward to continuing to build that good work.”
“Mr. Speaker, our government is leading a national effort to solve the housing crisis by working with cities and towns across Canada to get more housing built. In reducing red tape, the housing accelerator fund has been very successful working with 241 communities across the country. Those communities made commitments. This government holds everyone accountable to their commitments. The integrity of those agreements is important. We are seeing great results, and Red Deer is one of the cities that is delivering housing supply. That is our goal— An hon. member: Oh, oh!”
“Mr. Speaker, the results speak for themselves. Affordability for housing has been improving over the last several years. The actions taken by the government are having an immediate effect. We are seeing rents come down. We are seeing home prices come down. We are seeing housing supply increase. We do have immediate-term measures to boost housing supply with provinces and territories. We are working with cities and with indigenous communities to build housing: supportive and transitional housing for people who are homeless, missing middle housing, and student housing. Across the board, we are investing. We expect all members of the House to support affordable housing.”
“Mr. Speaker, we have good news. Housing starts are up almost 10% across Canada year to date, so we are seeing progress in terms of housing starts. We are seeing rents decrease. We are seeing mortgages reduced. We are seeing home prices reduced. Affordability is improving for housing across Canada. It is not just a short-term change that we have to grapple with, with the uncertainty we face. Build Canada Homes is a dedicated affordable housing agency here in Canada to build for generations to come. We expect members opposite to support the bill through Parliament.”
“Mr. Speaker, we are doing a lot of work right now in B.C. to lift up people, particularly young people, with the break on new home purchases for first-time homebuyers, a GST break of up to $50,000. There is also a housing supply bonus going out to the provinces and territories to help reduce the cost of housing, which is the number one driver with affordability. When we look at the cost of housing, we see that we have more work to do with Build Canada Homes and many other initiatives on housing. We are delivering those in earnest.”
“Mr. Speaker, we are tackling Canada's housing challenges with urgency and innovation. Build Canada Homes is already showing what is possible when we work in strong partnership with provinces, territories, local governments and community builders. We have agreements in place with many provinces. We have over 10,000 homes under way. What we can do now is pass the Build Canada Homes act in the House. I would urge all members, in these busy four weeks ahead, to support its swift passage so we can scale up, build Canada homes and build more affordable housing.”
“Mr. Speaker, we are at the negotiating table; we are in discussions with Quebec. We are committed to working with our provincial counterparts to ensure that our communities are connected by robust and reliable public transport and active transport services.”
“Mr. Speaker, I will reinforce the concerns this side of the House has about the anxiety and fearmongering the Conservatives are pushing on this issue. This is a very serious issue. The government supports the appeal. The government supports the rights of private property owners. The government supports reconciliation. We will pursue the course of action of appealing the superior court decision in B.C. We will see justice and clarity on this. We do not need the politics being played by the Conservatives to make this worse for Canadians.”
“Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity for the member opposite to let me highlight the work that is going into the Canada public transit fund and the zero emission transit fund. We have opportunities to invest in zero emission transportation: battery electric buses. Technology is improving by the month. There are battery electric buses operating in many cities across Canada. Edmonton is currently the city with the lead. Edmonton, as some members opposite will know, is fairly far north in Canada, and those buses are running well. There is evidence around the world that battery electric buses will deliver good transportation.”
“Mr. Speaker, this government supports the rights of private property owners and this government is 100% committed to reconciliation. Canadians want the clarity that this appeal will provide. They do not want the fear and misinformation that these Conservatives are pushing out in an attempt to divide Canadians.”
“Mr. Speaker, it was wonderful to be in Brampton last week with the Prime Minister to announce the funding for a new community centre, the Embleton community centre and park, in Brampton. It is a $64-million investment for a 175,000-square foot community centre. It is exactly the kind of project that we promised Canadians we would deliver. This is one of 13 initial projects for the build community strong fund. There is much more to come in the weeks ahead. It is time to build.”
“Mr. Speaker, indeed today is a very good day for housing in Canada. We are working with all provinces and territories, along with our homebuilding partners, to make housing more affordable and to deliver for Canadians. The funding from the housing supply bill would keep our projects moving, protect Canadian workers and support construction. This is for the months and years ahead. We are investing in affordability in our housing and in the Canadians whom we need to support right now. There is a lot more work to do, but today is a great day.”