Only 2,000 of Liberals’ 19,000 homes being built

David Menzies and Tamara Lich react to a CBC fact check of the Liberals’ housing claim, and to Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne’s claim that shoppers are thanking the government for its grocery benefit.

On Monday’s Rebel Roundup, hosts David Menzies and Tamara Lich looked at a CBC fact check of the Liberal government’s housing record. In a clip, Housing Minister Gregor Robertson says Build Canada Homes has "over 19,000 homes underway right now."

The CBC reports that the agency has committed to supporting about 19,000 affordable units, but only about 2,000 are being built. The reporter says the agency did not answer when asked what stage the other roughly 17,000 are in.

Tamara gave the broadcaster credit for "holding [the Liberals'] feet to the fire," while David said it was a change to see the CBC "doing good due diligence."

The report ties the numbers to the Liberal promise to double housing construction. Housing starts have hovered around 250,000 a year, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, which says 417,000 to 469,000 homes a year are needed to restore pre-pandemic affordability by 2036.

The hosts also took on Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne’s claim that Canadians are thanking the government for its grocery benefit. In another clip played on the show, Champagne says people he meets in grocery stores tell him the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit is "making a real difference." He also pointed to the federal fuel tax suspension, which the Liberals have extended to January 31, 2027.

David was not convinced. He likened it to a story Jean Chrétien once told about advice from a homeless man on his way to Parliament, a man David said the media later could not find. "I want to interview that person," David said, asking anyone who has thanked Champagne for the benefit to contact the Rebel News tips line.

For her part, Tamara said she would have something different to say if she met him in a grocery store. Groceries have become so expensive, she said, that Canadians "have to be subsidized by the Canadian government in order to afford them."

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