Poilievre and Trudeau face off on housing crisis
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
150.45248
Summary
Learn English with Justin Trudeau. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivers a speech on the need for affordable housing in Canada. Justin Trudeau is the Prime Minister of Canada and is the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons. He has been in office for almost 10 years and has failed to deliver on his promise to make housing more affordable for all Canadians.
Transcript
00:00:02.220
I want you to know that the status quo is unacceptable.
00:00:06.520
That Canada has become an unfair country where young people, an entire generation, cannot afford a home and families cannot afford food.
00:00:16.960
And if he finds out who's been running this place for the last nine years, there will be hell to pay.
00:00:22.840
Will the Prime Minister complete his investigation and tell us who's been in charge for the last half?
00:00:43.080
When we first got elected, we raised taxes on the wealth.
00:00:56.140
Mr. Speaker, when we got elected, the first thing we did was raise taxes on the wealthiest 1% and lower them for the middle class, a measure that the Conservative Party voted against.
00:01:06.540
We've continued to invest in young people, invest in standing up a national housing strategy after the previous government had completely ignored housing.
00:01:15.620
And the former Housing Minister, who is now Leader of the Opposition, was responsible for creating exactly six affordable homes in his time as Minister.
00:01:23.980
We've continued to invest and we're going to continue to make sure that the economy is fair for every generation.
00:01:31.140
And that means asking the wealthiest to pay a little more so we can put more money in the pockets of the middle class.
00:01:39.620
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has got to stop getting his fax from his incompetent housing minister's Twitter account.
00:01:47.100
This is the same guy who, as an immigration minister, lost track of a million people.
00:01:52.720
When I was housing minister, we built 92,782 new apartment units with an average rent of $973.
00:02:07.900
How many apartments will the Prime Minister build at the price of $972 a month this year?
00:02:19.400
Mr. Speaker, our housing plan is the most ambitious and comprehensive in Canada's history.
00:02:24.820
We'll unlock three, close to four million homes by 2031.
00:02:30.860
This happens because we're working with municipalities, we're working with provinces to increase the levels of ambition.
00:02:37.540
We've put out the most comprehensive and ambitious housing plan this country has ever seen.
00:02:41.920
Because we know that making sure that young people can afford a home, making sure we change the way homes are built in this country,
00:02:48.360
is about building a stronger future for everyone in this country.
00:02:51.740
That's what fairness for every generation looks like.
00:02:54.140
That's what this government is focused on, while they're focused on cuts.
00:03:03.580
When I was Minister of Housing, we paid half as much for rent in Canada that we pay today.
00:03:09.320
And on that question of his ambitious housing plan, I decided to read all about it in their 2015 platform.
00:03:18.580
We will make it easier for Canadians to find an affordable place to call home.
00:03:25.320
They doubled the cost since that promise was made.
00:03:31.920
Why do we expect the same promise, with the same programs, and the same Prime Minister to be kept this time?
00:03:43.060
I was in Vancouver a few weeks ago to speak with young people about the fact that we're supporting renters with greater protections
00:03:50.340
and making sure that the money they spend every month on rent actually gets counted in their credit score
00:03:56.660
so they can help get a mortgage on into the future.
00:04:00.240
Our housing plan will unlock 3.87 million new homes by cutting red tape, by reforming zoning,
00:04:07.220
by lowering costs of home building, by using public lands and vacant government offices for housing.
00:04:12.540
We're making it easier to save up for tax-free for a down payment.
00:04:16.620
We're helping to end chronic homelessness and make homes more affordable.
00:04:25.620
Oh, he's going to turn public buildings and land into housing.
00:04:32.240
We will conduct an inventory of all federal lands and buildings that could be repurposed
00:04:35.540
and make some of these lands available at low cost for affordable housing.
00:04:41.620
And now, nine years later, he can only point to 13 homes on those public lands.
00:04:47.500
And yesterday, he promised a rapid review of all the federal land portfolios.
00:05:04.140
We made a choice to invest in Canadians and that started when we took office
00:05:08.900
because the previous government had not invested in Canadians,
00:05:15.980
continued to choose austerity over the kinds of investments
00:05:18.960
that a confident country should be making in its citizens.
00:05:22.440
And that's where we have stepped up and that's where we are stepping up right now
00:05:26.240
to make sure that young people have the opportunities
00:05:31.120
by asking the wealthiest 0.1% to pay more in taxes.
00:05:35.400
Unfortunately, the Leader of the Opposition continues to stand with the ultra-wealthy
00:05:49.380
and the Immigration Minister who caused it all.
00:05:53.060
Then, he made that Minister responsible for housing.
00:05:56.420
Since that time, that Minister has a $4 billion housing accelerator
00:06:01.780
that he admits will not build any homes, no specific homes.
00:06:06.160
And in fact, since it began, housing starts have gone down this year
00:06:10.460
and his housing agency says they'll go down next year
00:06:16.500
How is it the Prime Minister can spend $4 billion on a housing accelerator
00:06:23.020
Mr. Speaker, I'm happy to talk about the housing accelerator
00:06:29.600
because it stands in direct contrast with any plan
00:06:33.340
that the Leader of the Opposition has put forward
00:06:35.580
to pick fights with municipalities and provinces on housing.
00:06:41.380
that are allowing for more densification for four units as of right
00:06:45.140
to make sure there's better use of public lands
00:06:49.600
by making sure we're changing the math around building affordable homes
00:06:54.200
to unlock millions of homes over the coming years.
00:06:58.380
This is the work that we're doing right across the country
00:07:01.100
with people who are ambitious about solving the housing crisis.
00:07:04.700
If the Leader of the Opposition doesn't want to help solve it,
00:07:14.260
Well, it was solved when rent was $973 a month, Mr. Speaker,
00:07:20.880
But more proof that he is not worth the cost after nine years.
00:07:29.160
If the world is to blame for the housing problems in Canada,
00:07:32.620
then why is it that housing here is 50 to 75 percent more expensive
00:07:40.620
than in any other G7 country relative to incomes?
00:07:46.180
Why is it that we have the fewest homes per capita
00:07:48.740
despite having the most land and the most lumber?
00:08:07.380
It is a good thing that we continue to draw in people
00:08:11.660
It is also extremely important that we recognize
00:08:14.620
that even as the world is faced with challenges around inflation,
00:08:18.600
disrupted supply chains, getting over the pandemic,
00:08:34.480
on creating the jobs and the future that Canadians need.