Ideally, yes.
I will issue the caveat that I am not the IT genius who has the capacity to design what the system would look like.
I would speak to the fact that the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre processed more than 63,000 reports of fraud in 2023 alone. This is in excess of $560 million of loss for Canada's economy.
How the digital income tool is designed to ensure that the most confidential information of Canadians maintains its confidentiality I am happy to leave up to the wizards, whether that's internal to the CRA or if it goes out as an RFP to the leading-edge technology companies that we have right here in Canada.
The reality is that mortgage fraud is on the rise. The pressure to own a home, which is something that many see as a key milestone of success, is pushing people to desperate measures. I think the expression is, “Build a better mousetrap and the mouse gets better at committing fraud.”
It's becoming a costly problem for lenders. Research is showing that for every dollar lost to fraud, Canadian financial services require over $3.78 to recover.