Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and committee members. I'm here to represent the views of the Canadian Home Builders' Association.
Canada has one of the best mortgage systems in the world, if not the best, as evidenced by the high rate of home ownership and high levels of ownership affordability and accessibility enjoyed by Canadians. Mortgage insurance is a critical foundation for the mortgage market in Canada. This is recognized by the federal government. The federal government's guarantee for mortgage insurers reflects its commitment to a mortgage insurance system that supports affordability and accessibility for all Canadians. In effect, the guarantee recognizes that mortgage insurance supports important public policy objectives with respect to home ownership.
The mortgage insurance environment is highly competitive, with both Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and Genworth Financial Canada in competition. This competition has benefited housing consumers, lending institutions, and the housing industry by facilitating the creation of a wide range of new products, including low down payment mortgages, portability of mortgages and mortgage insurance, reductions in mortgage insurance premiums, and so on. In short, our present competitive mortgage insurance environment works extremely well for Canadian home buyers in all parts of Canada. The Canadian Home Builders' Association wants to see the continuation of this environment, one that is innovative and produces benefits for home buyers. To this end, the entry of new mortgage insurance providers into the mortgage insurance market is a welcome prospect, as is the extension of the federal government's guarantee to these entrants.
In order to ensure that home buyers benefit from an expanded mortgage insurance market, the Canadian Home Builders' Association strongly recommends that the following conditions be laid down by the government. First, the level of guarantee should depend on the extent to which the insurer provides the same coverage and premium to all home buyers across Canada. Second, the public mortgage insurer, CMHC, should meet the same corporate governance rules for transparency and accountability and follow the same operating principles that apply to private commercial enterprise. Third, competition in the mortgage insurance market should be based on the mortgage insurance product and not on allowances, rebates, or other similar incentives to the mortgage lender.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.