Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about housing. I have given notice that the responses the Liberal housing minister provided are unsatisfactory. They are unsatisfactory not just to me but to an entire generation of would-be and prospective homebuyers.

I have asked several questions in the House of the minister on housing. I know the Liberals like to say it is a new government, but they have been in power for 10 years and they cannot run away from their record. After 10 years, the reality is that people in the next generation are simply unable to afford a home.

The solution that has been proposed is that we can maybe live in modular homes, prefab homes or shipping containers, but what they have not proposed is a real solution to give the next generation of homebuyers choice in their housing. If a prefabricated home works for a family, that is excellent. If it does not, people should have a choice. They should not be forced into the government's one-size-fits-all proposal.

I want to share with the parliamentary secretary, who I hope will be providing some more enlightened answers this evening, just how bad it has gotten in my riding.

In the township of Scugog, according to the most recent Toronto Regional Real Estate Board report from May, the average price of a single-family detached home is now $989,000. Since 2015, since the Liberals were elected, the average price of all types of housing in the township has increased by 208%. At the same time, the median salary in the township of Scugog is, after tax, $92,000. That means housing is 10 times salary in the town. According to Statistics Canada, wages in the township have only increased by 9.5% since the last census period.

This is if we can find an average-priced house in the township. If the parliamentary secretary were to go on realtor.ca and look today, she would not find any homes that are selling for $989,000. She would find homes, for example on Waterbury Crescent, that are selling for $1.4 million.

In the town of Georgina, according to TRREB's May report, the average cost for a single-family detached home is now $808,000. Since 2015, since the Liberals were elected, the average price for all housing types in the town of Georgina has increased by 99.5%. At the same time, the median after-tax salary in the town is $85,000. Housing is 9.5 times salary. Statistics Canada has said that wages in the town only increased 11% in the last census period.

Lastly, in the township of Uxbridge, it is $1.2 million for a single-family detached home. Since 2015, the average prices for all housing are up 120%.

What this all means is that the average salary no longer buys the average house in the GTA, and almost all across the country. That is not right. In Toronto, for example, the Liberals handed out $471 million in housing decelerator funds and we have 58% fewer housing starts.

I want the parliamentary secretary to help me make sense of this. First, can she confirm to the House that the Liberal promise is still to build 500,000 new homes a year? Second, she should tell us whether that promise of building 500,000 new homes this year will be met.

Jacob Mantle

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