Status of Women committee  When we were in government, we started the Housing First initiative. The Housing First initiative took into play all the things around individuals who face barriers to getting into affordable housing. Many other issues need to be taken care of, and they were referred to here. This government, thankfully, has taken that initiative forward, Housing First.

Status of Women committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. Mr. MacArthur, are you aware of what the tax load is per door of a unit? I mean the cumulative tax cost. You're talking about affordability here and an aspiration of making a house affordable for every Canadian by 2030. What do you propose to do regarding the fact that right now, according to the building community in this country, from the time they start a project to the time they hand the key to the new owner of that unit, or the tenant, whichever, the tax load is almost half the price of the house?

Status of Women committee  That's okay. That's fine. I guess I'm trying to drive a point—and you'll sense my bias as I go through this, as a past president of Ontario Home Builders' Association—which is the fact that right now it takes seven to 10 years for the approvals process of a greenfield site to the time the first person moves in.

Status of Women committee  That's okay. Let me move on. I have lots to do. I chaired a national housing round table. We had them once a month for the four years prior to this Parliament. We brought in a lot of people from what I would call the public and non-profit sector to give us their thoughts on the solutions they saw to the barriers to people being able to access affordable housing.

Status of Women committee  It will go directly to individuals, so they can go out and select the kind of housing they want to live in.