Mr. Chair, I'm pleased to hear that there is at least some support in principle here around the table for our amendment. I note that at least two parties ran on this and included it in their platforms. Clearly, there is some merit to this, because two parties have reviewed this closely. In fact, our amendment directly tracks what we included in our platform.
Second, to Mr. Ste-Marie's point, I would note that this applies only to residential property as defined in the underused housing tax act, so this is very narrowly construed. This is not in any way focused on snowbirds. Snowbirds are coming up here for vacation properties. If in fact snowbirds are buying residential property and depriving Canadians of the right to purchase or live in their own home, that is a problem anyway, but the word “snowbird” implies vacation properties. Those are not captured by this legislation.
Finally, I would just say that this tool is not in any way replacing the underused housing tax that the government has brought forward. This is simply adding another tool to the tool kit. It's enhancing the tools that the government has available to address what is arguably the most serious affordability crisis this government has on its hands.