Senator Cardozo: Welcome back, minister, to the Senate Chamber in your new role. I just want to talk a little bit about co‑op housing. I’m pleased to see that it is talked about in the bill regarding amendments to the Excise Tax Act. It doesn’t help a whole lot in this bill, but I’d just like to get your sense of the importance of co-op housing and whether you see other measures you might take in terms of affordable housing.
I have a quick comment on the complementary piece of legislation we’re looking at regarding the ability of the Governor-in-Council to opt out of legislation. We’ve heard a lot of concerns about that, and I encourage you to consider constraining that power in Bill C-5, but I’d like your thoughts about co-op housing.
Mr. Champagne: Thank you, senator. It’s a pleasure and a privilege to be with you tonight.
You’re right that this is not the only measure. Obviously, housing is probably one of the most concerning aspects Canadians are facing across the nation. Affordability and housing are probably the two things that people talk about the most because that is affecting people in their daily lives. It is something applicable across the nation.
The GST elimination and rebate are obviously just one part of a suite of measures we have seen on housing. This government has tackled housing a bit like we’ve done since the Second World War. It is a wartime effort to build more and make sure affordable housing is available. I can name the Canada Housing Benefit and the Federal Community Housing Initiative. We’ve invested significant money into supporting co-op and communities to build affordable housing. That’s why I am saying that you have to take the measure in Bill C-4 as part of a suite of measures to ensure that we offer as many opportunities to Canadians as possible so that they can afford a home in our country. Honestly, there’s no reason in Canada, in a country as big as ours and with all the industries we have, that we cannot tackle this challenge together.
The Prime Minister has been very clear about the ambition that we have to build more houses in this country — to the tune of 500,000. It’s an effort that we’ve seen. We’re also taking lessons from the book after the Second World War. You may have seen the booklets when people had approved plans. This country knows how to do big things. When we act collectively and face challenges, we are able to tackle them.
What we have in Bill C-4 is just one measure in a much larger suite of measures to address the housing issue across our nation.