Thank you for that question.
I'll be answering in French.
We're obviously very pleased with that announcement, just as we were when it was announced that the GST would be eliminated on rental housing construction. However, according to CMHC, there will be a shortfall of 1.2 million units in Quebec by the end of 2023. That's pretty far off the mark.
For us, every gesture counts. We have to promote access to ownership to enable people to become owners if they wish to do so and to prevent people from only being renters out of obligation, not by choice. We also need to make every effort to spur construction and renovation of the housing stock, which in some instances is in very poor condition. Quebec has a very poor housing stock balance for the moment. Every unit that's removed from that stock now is one unit fewer. The most affordable housing is housing that's already built.
We need to promote renovation, not just new housing construction. We should also enhance certain CMHC programs, particularly for energy-efficient projects, and not just introduce measures such as eliminating the GST on new housing construction. That would help promote renovation and, consequently, maintenance of the existing housing stock.