Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Elmwood—Transcona for the question and for his advocacy in this place, particularly for seniors.
To the questions the member asked around housing, and I did not have a chance to mention this in my speech, but seniors across the country, who are often living below the poverty line, are looking at the rising cost of housing with anxiety. They are wondering whether they will be able to continue to afford the housing they live in.
The member asked about policies the government could take. One example, which the government has talked about, is a vacancy tax. We could put in place a meaningful tax on homes that are purchased by investors who have no interest in anyone ever living in them. While the government has talked about a 1% tax on non-resident, non-Canadians, we have examples across the country, in Vancouver, for example, where it is far broader.
With these kinds of measures, we could use those funds to reinvest and, to the point around climate and other opportunities, provide no-interest loans and ensure that low-income Canadians have access to the funding required for energy upgrades to reduce the energy poverty across the country as well.