Bill C-56 (Historical)

Affordable Housing and Groceries Act

An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Competition Act

This bill is from the 44th Parliament, 1st session, which ended in January 2025.

Sponsor

Chrystia Freeland Liberal

Status

This bill has received Royal Assent and is now law.

Summary

This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament has also written a full legislative summary of the bill.

Part 1 amends the Excise Tax Act in order to implement a temporary enhancement to the GST New Residential Rental Property Rebate in respect of new purpose-built rental housing.
Part 2 amends the Competition Act to, among other things,
(a) establish a framework for an inquiry to be conducted into the state of competition in a market or industry;
(b) permit the Competition Tribunal to make certain orders even if none of the parties to an agreement or arrangement — a significant purpose of which is to prevent or lessen competition in any market — are competitors; and
(c) repeal the exceptions in sections 90.1 and 96 of the Act involving efficiency gains.

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Bill numbers are reused for different bills each new session. Perhaps you were looking for one of these other C-56s:

C-56 (2017) An Act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act and the Abolition of Early Parole Act

C-56 (2015) Statutory Release Reform Act

C-56 (2013) Combating Counterfeit Products Act

C-56 (2010) Preventing the Trafficking, Abuse and Exploitation of Vulnerable Immigrants Act

Votes

Dec. 11, 2023 Passed 3rd reading and adoption of Bill C-56, An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Competition Act

Dec. 5, 2023 Passed Concurrence at report stage of Bill C-56, An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Competition Act

Dec. 5, 2023 Passed Bill C-56, An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Competition Act (report stage amendment) (Motion No. 3)

Dec. 5, 2023 Failed Bill C-56, An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Competition Act (report stage amendment) (Motion No. 2)

Dec. 5, 2023 Failed Bill C-56, An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Competition Act (report stage amendment) (Motion No. 1)

Nov. 23, 2023 Passed 2nd reading of Bill C-56, An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Competition Act

Debate Summary

This is a computer-generated summary of the speeches below. Usually it’s accurate, but every now and then it’ll contain inaccuracies or total fabrications.

Bill C-56 addresses housing affordability and grocery prices by amending the Excise Tax Act to include a GST rebate for builders of rental apartment buildings and amending the Competition Act to increase the power of the Competition Bureau, increase fines for serious offences, adjust the legal threshold required to find a major player guilty of abusing a dominant position to reduce competition, and allow the commissioner of competition to independently undertake a market study. An additional amendment would extend the GST rebate to co-operatives. The bill aims to incentivize construction of rental housing and strengthen competition in the marketplace, particularly in the grocery sector.

Liberal

Supports Bill C-56: The government introduced Bill C-56, the affordable housing and groceries legislation, as a tangible way to support Canadians. The bill aims to strengthen the Competition Bureau to increase competition, particularly in the grocery sector, and addresses housing issues through proactive measures and investments.
Government is proactive on housing: The government has adopted a historic housing strategy with significant investments, unlike the negligible role of the federal government in the previous 30 years. The government is committed to working with municipalities and other levels of government to increase housing supply, particularly in the non-profit sector, through legislation and budgetary measures.
Focus on job creation: The government has prioritized job creation through infrastructure development and support for Canadians, resulting in over a million jobs created since the pandemic. These efforts aim to support Canada's middle class, provide essential programs for those in need, and increase affordability through initiatives like affordable child care and increased OAS for seniors.

Conservative

Economic mismanagement: The Conservative speakers repeatedly blamed the Liberal-NDP government for economic mismanagement, leading to inflation, high interest rates, and increased reliance on government assistance. They argue that the government's policies have made the Canadian dream unattainable for many.
Housing affordability crisis: The Conservatives highlighted the doubling of housing costs and rents under the current government, attributing it to deficit spending and a lack of investment in infrastructure. They criticized the government's housing initiatives as mere 'photo ops' with little concrete action, leading to a decline in new home construction.
Carbon tax burden: The speakers criticized the carbon tax, claiming it increases the cost of food, utilities, and gas, further burdening Canadians. They emphasized the need to axe the tax on gas, groceries, and home heating to alleviate financial strain on families.
Proposed Conservative solutions: The Conservatives promoted their plan to balance the budget, lower inflation, and reduce interest rates. They also mentioned a bill called the 'Building homes not bureaucracy' bill and emphasized a focus on jail for repeat offenders, border control for illegal guns, and freedom of speech.

NDP

Supports C-56: The NDP will support bill C-56 as it makes small movements toward addressing corporate greed in the grocery industry and in housing. They are happy to see any movement on the issue, although they believe the bill does not go far enough.
Competition Bureau improvements: The bill includes important amendments that were based on the work of the NDP leader, giving the commissioner the ability to launch their own investigations without needing permission from the minister and raising penalties for abuse of market dominance.
Need for non-market housing: The NDP is pleased to get rid of the GST on purpose-built rentals, but it must be accompanied by direct action to build more non-market housing because that is housing that can be built and sustained at rents that people can truly afford.
Extending GST rebate: The NDP expressed disappointment that the government still refuses to extend the GST rebate to projects with secured funding under the national housing strategy that are led by non-profits, which could be the difference they need to accommodate higher interest rates and proceed with projects.

Bloc

Housing crisis in regions: Federal housing programs do not work for the regions, like Abitibi—Témiscamingue, because they are not designed for regional realities. Programs should be adapted to suit projects in remote regions, including Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation programs, to address the housing shortage.
Modernizing Competition Act: The Bloc Québécois has been calling for a comprehensive reform of the Competition Act for years, but the government missed an opportunity to thoroughly modernize the act. The process was rushed, limiting the ability to consider recommendations from the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology.
Amendments to Competition Act: Despite the challenges, the committee adopted important amendments, including increasing fines for serious offences, adjusting the legal threshold for finding abuse of dominant position, and giving the commissioner of competition the power to independently undertake market studies.
Protecting consumers: The Bloc Québécois introduced an amendment to target the adverse effects of a lack of competition on consumers, aiming to prevent exploitation through predatory pricing. The amendment seeks to address the lack of oversight that has allowed shady conglomerates to take over affordable housing and turn it into unaffordable housing.

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Motions in AmendmentAffordable Housing and Groceries ActGovernment Orders