On December 9, 2019, I rose in the House of Commons to speak about the national housing crisis. Safe, secure, affordable housing is a basic human right. There is an acute and severe need for the federal government to take immediate action on housing. If federal funds to build housing flow now we can work together to do this - ending homelessness is entirely possible if only parliamentarians have the political will to do it:
"Mr. Speaker, solving the national housing crisis is one of the most important issues that we face. I have long advocated for access to safe, secure, affordable housing as a basic human right.
In 1993, the federal Liberals cancelled the national social housing program. That one action caused Canada to lose more than half a million units of social and co-op housing that would otherwise have been built in communities all across the country. Having those units would have put Canada's housing affordability in a dramatically different position than where we are today. In east Vancouver, the situation is so severe that we have had a tent city in Oppenheimer Park for more than a year.
Solving the homelessness crisis is entirely possible. If people can go to the moon, surely we can actually get housing built. During the election, the NDP called for half a million units of affordable housing to be built and for those funds to flow now. I believe that the federal government must step up and do its part. We need to work with the cities, the province and non-profits to get the housing built. Together, we can end homelessness."