Mr. Chair, the mortgage insurance requirement is a long-standing feature of the Canadian system. We do require, as a matter of law, as established obviously by Parliament, that mortgages that have a down payment of 20% or less must be insured against default. That insurance can come from CMHC, a crown corporation. It can also come from private corporations.
This is a measure that does contribute to financial stability in Canada because it diversifies some of the risk away from the banking system and into the insurance system, and also, as the member pointed out, to some extent, to the government.