Thank you, Chair.
Good morning, Minister.
Minister, when I speak to the residents in my city of Mississauga, one of the most popular measures they tell me about from the economic action plan is the home renovation tax credit. I'd like to share with you some quotes about how this measure is helping to inject immediate stimulus into our economy and also helping people to realize the goal of home ownership and embark on renovation projects that they may have been putting off because of economic worries.
Robert Dutton, the president and CEO of Rona, commented:
We are happy to see measures such as the Home Renovation Tax Credit being implemented as we believe they will help stimulate the Canadian economy. This initiative directly benefits consumers and the industry while helping to save Canadian jobs.
Also, the president of the Calgary Real Estate Board recently praised these incentives, saying:
The people that we're seeing out there buying right now are a lot of first-time buyers. There's been enough incentives to help them out (such as the federal homebuyers' plan and the first-time buyer tax credit).
That was said on May 2 of this year.
Can you elaborate on the features of the home renovation tax credit and the first-time home buyers' tax credit and discuss their benefits to the economy?