Mr. Chair, I will begin by questioning Mr. Dickie, and my question is in the form of a request to obtain greater clarification, because I am not sure that I have grasped all of the nuances of their comments. I am referring to page 4 in the French version. In order to facilitate things for Mr. Dickie, the reference is found on page 3 in the English version.
You have estimated housing spending and tax expenditures by tenure in Canada. Following the list, you talk about the non-taxation of net imputed rent. There is a footnote No. 2 on the following page, which reads as follows:
According to Statistics Canada, net imputed rent on owner occupied housing in Canada amounted to $39.2 billion in 2009. The federal tax expenditure incurred in 2009 by not imposing income tax on that imputed income is estimated by [your expert] at $5,595 million (or $5.595 billion).
I would like you to explain this aspect further. Because this is not clear for us: how do you come up with the biggest number in your list, when you detail the disparities between private renters and homeowners? I do not understand how you have come up with this figure and then say that this proves there is a disparity. It is not obvious. Would you be so kind as to provide further explanations?