Thank you.
I'd like to thank all the witnesses for being here today.
Mr. Lyall, the Quebec equivalent of your organization, the Association des professionnels de la construction et de l'habitation du Québec, or APCHQ, testified before the committee last week. The representative expressed some reservations to the committee about the date on which the GST rebate on new homes would apply. She explained that the measure was first announced in March by the Prime Minister, before the election campaign. Then there was the election campaign, and when parliamentary work resumed, a motion was introduced in Parliament. That explains why the GST rebate starts for contracts signed as of May 27, if I'm not mistaken.
The APCHQ explained that some people thought that the program was in place from the time of the Prime Minister's announcement. As a result, they started signing contracts and acquiring their homes before the measure came into effect.
In light of this, do you think it would be appropriate for the government to move up the new home GST rebate implementation date to the time of the Prime Minister's announcement in March?