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Speaking notes for the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities

To the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities (TRAN)

Ottawa, ON
October 4, 2023

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for welcoming me today.

I'd like to begin by acknowledging that we are on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People.

I am joined today by Kelly Gillis, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Communities.

I'm pleased to be here in my new role as Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities. This new role and new portfolio bring together the work that both Infrastructure Canada and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) are doing in communities across Canada every day.

Investments in housing, public transit, water infrastructure, community centres, parks, are all inter connected, and they are essential to building communities that are livable, connected and affordable.

Communities where people have access to essential programs and services, where they can easily get to work or school.

Communities that provide opportunities for Canadians and that we're proud to call home.

Since 2015, Infrastructure Canada has invested an unprecedented $79.1 billion towards tens of thousands of projects across the country. We made this commitment to infrastructure because we understand that infrastructure is the backbone of strong communities.

In transit alone, we've invested $30  billion towards more than 1,400 transit projects to help reduce commute times, traffic congestion, and GHG emissions.

Starting in 2026-27, the permanent public transit fund will invest an average of $3 billion annually to expand urban transit networks, deliver affordable zero-emission transit options, and build more active transportation options.

That's stable long-term support that will foster effective planning of public transit systems that meet the real needs of communities.

Just as we understood the need for infrastructure investment in our communities, we also recognized the challenges the country was facing with housing and affordability.

That's why we launched the $82 billion National Housing Strategy: to build or repair hundreds of thousands of homes, and provide direct relief to thousands more low-income households.

But the challenge of housing environment has changed drastically.

The pressures that major cities were already experiencing have become more acute and are now being felt throughout the country. A severe housing shortage, combined with inflation and rising interest rates, has created a situation where low and middle-class Canadians are struggling with housing affordability.

That's why we launched the $4 billion Housing Accelerator Fund, to help cities get more homes built more quickly. It's why we're investing nearly $4 billion over nine years to prevent and reduce homelessness through Reaching Home.

But we realize we need to do more. The new GST exemption for the building of purpose-built rental homes, will incentivize developers to build rental homes, rather than luxury condos.

We also increased the annual limit for Canada Mortgage Bonds from $40 billion to up to $60 billion. This will unlock low-cost financing for rental construction and help to build up to 30,000 more rental apartments per year.

Still, there's much more to do.

We need to urgently address the emergencies. We need to focus on housing the growing numbers of people experiencing homelessness across Canada.

We need to tackle the housing shortage, from every possible angle. CMHC estimates that Canada needs 3.5 million more homes by 2030, above and beyond what we're already on track to build.

We can change the financial equation for developers so it is more viable to build the housing Canadians need. We can continue to make investments that tie infrastructure projects to housing and community needs.

We can incentivize other levels of government to remove local rules that slow down and limit. This will change the way cities are building housing and hold them accountable, to create more supply.

There is no silver bullet for addressing this crisis, and we need to take an all-hands-on-deck approach, involving all levels of government and all sectors of society.

Our plan is to maximize the use of federal tools that have the greatest direct influence: through the tax system; by leveraging federal funding for housing in infrastructure; by making use of federal lands; by leveraging immigration policy; and by promoting innovation.

As you can see the federal government is already taking steps, but we can mobilize more action from partners.

Right now we have an unprecedented opportunity to work together – with communities, not for profits, the private sector and our provincial and territorial partners – to address one of the greatest challenges we've seen in decades.

When we take an approach that considers housing and infrastructure needs together, we can better address local needs while achieving shared results.

I am honoured to play a role in the solution. And it will be an honour to work with this committee as we build affordable and livable communities.

Thank you.

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