Thank you very much.
Ms. Cox and Mr. Thornton, it's nice to see you again.
Just for context, Mr. Chair, he chaired a discussion between me and my colleagues in the NDP and the Conservatives just recently. It was amicable, so it was fine.
There's a question I have for you. I'm intrigued by what you say about the stress test, but the Bank of Canada, while not dismissing that the stress test has had impact on buying patterns in Canada, has said the following on their website:
...the significant drop in the number of mortgages...indicates that other factors, such as provincial and municipal housing policies, are playing an important part. Most notably, a foreign buyers' tax for Vancouver was announced in July 2016....
In Ontario, a similar policy came about in April 2017. The bank continued:
Other regional policies include an empty house tax, restrictions on short-term rentals and measures to increase affordable housing. These measures helped change market sentiment, which in turn has slowed activity and price growth.
While I acknowledge that you're concerned about the stress test, would you acknowledge that there are other policies that have been introduced by other levels of government that are having an impact on buying patterns? That's the first question.
The second question is, was the Bank of Canada wrong to advise? This wasn't the Government of Canada's policy, this stress test. I think we took our cue as a government to put in place measures that corresponded with a real fear among economists, specifically the Bank of Canada—