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June 18th, 2019

Liberals are Failing to Deliver on Housing Commitments

The PBO report shows that the Liberal government’s housing policy is not working for people: Benson

OTTAWA – Today, NDP Deputy Leader and Housing Critic Sheri Benson (Saskatoon West) responded to the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s (PBO) report on the Liberal’s failure to deliver housing to people who need it with their National Housing Strategy (NHS). The PBO report states that the Liberals’ NHS is not reducing housing needs in Canada.

“This PBO report shows the failure of the Liberal government to deliver for people on their housing needs,” said Benson. “We have a housing crisis in this country, but the Liberals are failing to address it. In fact, they’re doing even less to help people with immediate housing needs than the Harper government. That is wrong.”

The PBO report indicated that there is no marked increase in federal spending by the Liberal government on housing beyond the historic 10-year average. Furthermore, the report says that the NHS lacks clarity as to whether it will meet its stated objectives of reducing chronic homelessness to 50% by 2030, and removing 530,000 families from housing need.

“This report clearly shows that the Liberals are inflating their own figures to mislead Canadians about their own commitment to ending homelessness, making housing more affordable and investments in housing,” Benson said. “Liberals are great with symbolic gestures, but cannot be trusted to do what they say. They are not there for those who need them. People deserve better.”

New Democrats unveiled their plan to make sure everyone can access a safe and affordable place to call home. An NDP government will create 500,000 units of quality, affordable housing in the next ten years, with half of that done within five years. Tackling the housing crisis and build affordable housing across the country is one of the NDP’s major commitments to Canadians.