Thank you.
As was said at the meeting on Monday, we have been contacted by many entrepreneurs to tell us that in their opinion, there are vague points in the bill when it comes to the GST credit that will be applied to projects. This is an example that comes up often: a project has been started, but the ground floor, which will house commercial premises, has not yet been begun. They want to build rental housing above. These entrepreneurs want to know what point marks the start of the project, so they know what it consists of.
If the first shovel of earth has been turned, we can assume that it is for the commercial part. They are in the process of deciding how many storeys they want to build and wondering what to do with the rest of the project. Whether they will have access to credit will change their financing arrangement and what will be built. They have to know this information in order to determine whether they will construct a five-storey building or an eight-storey building, for example. That is what we are being told.
We have therefore requested clarification. Because we have not received any clarification from the Minister, or at least this is my understanding of what has been said, this is what we are proposing here: for a project that has been started but for which the housing component did not start before September 14, 2023, we suggest that the project be considered to be eligible, in order to provide more stimulus for building housing.