This is a very reasonable request. I would simply point out that what Mr. Chambers is asking for is information that we should all be getting. The Liberal members say that CMHC works for Canadians—of course it does—and Canadians entrust us to oversee that work. CMHC is responsible to Parliament; we are Parliament. Therefore, CMHC is responsible to us.
This is especially important, because when Mr. Trudeau took office, house prices were at $435,000, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association, and now they're at $811,000. That's 85% housing inflation, with 25% in the last year alone. This is an increase that the chief economist for CREA said is the “biggest gain of all time”. That's after $400 billion of newly created cash was pumped into the financial and mortgage system and inflated these prices.
The risk is that this is a homegrown problem. Bloomberg says we have the second most inflated housing market in the world. Vancouver and Toronto are the second and fifth most unaffordable housing markets on planet earth, according to Demographia.
The committee should remember that banking rules, mortgage insurance, monetary policy and money laundering are all federal issues, so this is a federal matter. What Mr. Chambers is asking for, and what I'm asking for in my similar motion, is the appropriate information so that we can make judgments on those federal matters. That's all.