Thanks very much for being here, Mr. Forbes, Mr. Johnson and Ms. McDermott, and for all your work in serving Canadians every day.
On the prior exchange, I want to say that I think it's highly hypocritical to have a Conservative MP try to identify or lament housing construction types that aren't covered by the GST rebate—those for which the GST rebate wouldn't apply—when the leader of the Conservative Party introduced a private member's bill that would effectively remove the GST rebate on broad sections of rental housing construction. We've had witnesses here speak about the fact that in Mr. Poilievre's private member's bill, his proposal for the GST rebate would actually lead to far less construction of purpose-built rental units and therefore do a lot less for housing affordability across the country.
I wanted to point that out, because I think it's important for MPs on all sides. When we speak, we should be very clear about where we stand. Mr. Poilievre has made it very clear where his party stands on this. He believes the GST rebate shouldn't apply to all of the rental housing unit types we've applied it to.
One thing we've heard a lot about is the issue of short-term rentals. The minister spoke about this, but I also hear it from folks in my community, Etobicoke Centre.
When I hear about that, I think about Airbnb. I know there are other types, but Airbnb is the dominant provider of short-term rentals. What Airbnb does is allow people who own a property to rent it out for short-term periods. One of the challenges I hear about from my constituents is that it takes a housing unit away from a potential long-term rental. When people have short-term rentals.... I appreciate the benefit being able to rent it out in the short term has for the landlord, but right now we're facing a crisis of affordability in housing. It's very important that people have access to long-term rentals.
Can you talk about what the government is doing to address that very issue—making long-term rentals more affordable for Canadians?