QP Affordable Home Ownership

CLAUDIA CHENDER: In the Fall, the Deputy Minister Responsible for the Strategic Leadership on Housing said: "We don't have an affordable home ownership program yet." I'll table that. In the Budget tabled today, we see nothing new to create an affordable pathway for home ownership. This despite the fact that last year, home prices in this province were 65 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels. Nova Scotians need homes they can afford. Why is this government refusing to take action?

HON. COLTON LEBLANC » : I simply want to dismiss the characterization that we're not taking this seriously. Our government's actions on housing - groundbreaking investments in housing through our first mandate: more public housing, more supportive housing, more community housing, more student housing, more housing for health care workers, more rent supplements, more backyard suites. We're helping Nova Scotians buy their first home through the Down Payment Assistance Program. If the members opposite want to support our actions for housing, I encourage them to support this budget.

CLAUDIA CHENDER: I wondered who would answer, since we don't even have a housing department. Nova Scotians are being squeezed by ever-rising rental prices. The average asking price for a two-bedroom in Halifax is now nearly $2,500 a month. The vacancy rate for affordable apartments priced below $1,300 is below 1 per cent. The vast majority are fixed-term leases. The investments in this budget do not add up to a plan that protects renters or helps them to afford their homes. Why is this government yet again ignoring the needs of 300,000 renters?

COLTON LEBLANC « » : I find it quite rude for the member for Dartmouth South to essentially dismiss the work that's been done under my department, Growth and Development. There is a department responsible for housing, and it is within the Department of Growth and Development. We are taking this issue very seriously. It's across government. We're making unprecedented investments across the housing spectrum. We knew coming into government that we needed to address these challenges. That's why we have an action plan. It is working. We're not only meeting our target for 2028 - we're actually exceeding it.