Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and thank you, witnesses.
Mr. Macdonald, I have just one question. I think you quite appropriately hit the nail on the head when you said the response of the Canadian government was “nearly miraculous”, particularly when it comes to the CERB. We'll see where the numbers are today, but just yesterday at this time, nearly two million Canadians had been able to apply and be approved for the CERB. That's 1,000 applications per minute that are being put through, and credit goes to our outstanding public servants who are doing this work in the greatest moment of need that we as a country have felt since the Second World War. I saw that you caught yourself when you said “nearly” miraculous, because it's Holy Week, so I see that you're emphasizing “nearly”, but I think it's an appropriate way to describe the situation.
Here is my question. We've heard throughout these hearings about the issue of rent being a prime concern. For business owners and tenants, it's a major issue right now, and it promises to be a major issue in the weeks and months ahead. I put this question in the earlier panel to the banks, to both Mr. Parmenter and Ms. Durdin, and it seems they didn't want to answer, unfortunately. We didn't have much time, but I also noticed that perhaps they were being a bit evasive in part. That's fair, since it's a question that asks them to speculate on a policy response, but I still think it's in line with what we need to be focused on right now, which is a way forward, and that's why I want to talk about Australia.
Very recently, you may have seen, Mr. Macdonald, that Australia has introduced a change. Going forward, commercial landlords who can demonstrate a consistent record of payment can defer mortgage payments for up to six months on the condition that they not terminate leases or evict tenants who have been directly impacted by COVID-19. Do you think this is something that ought to be looked at in the Canadian context?