Thank you, Mr. Chair. You couldn't have timed that any better to clarify the comments of Mr. Blaikie.
It is for big cities that are not meeting targets. They are setting plans or passing resolutions and having all these ambitions, but the actual follow-through is not going there. Again, I'm happy to promote the merits of our leader Mr. Poilievre's private member's bill and to say that those penalties will happen to large cities that have targets.
I can assure you that your municipality would not fall into that. Rather, what we would do is that rural communities that are leading with that would be bonused for those that have targets and exceed them, that are building and adding to the housing portfolio and the need for 3.5 million homes, according to the CMHC. That means we have to triple the current number of housing starts that we had last year. As a point, now we're actually seeing housing starts decrease, not triple like they need to, just to meet demand. I wanted to note that for the record to make sure for a second time that we're clear on that and that there's no misinformation.
Mr. Boyd, I appreciate your presentation. The statistics you've provided have been very helpful in understanding the seriousness and the depth of the challenge you've been facing and seeing on the front lines of what you and your staff have been doing. I want to give you a bit more of an opportunity to speak.
I think one of the things we deal with in public life and in policy is that stats are important. I think humanizing some of those stories is equally important. In terms of some of your exchanges earlier, are there some stories or examples that come to mind? You mentioned the senior with medications. I'm going back to a family with two parents or a single parent with children who is going from paycheque to paycheque. Could you talk about this? Obviously I'm not naming names, but these stories that humanize this are very important. It's about the severity and magnitude of where we're at in terms of the cost of living crunch in Fredericton.