Under the current revised program, we stand ready to purchase up to $150 billion of insured mortgages to ensure that banks have access to reliable funding.
In short, the insured mortgage purchase program provides a safety net to ensure that banks can continue their lending activities so that housing markets remain functional.
We are also ready to expand the issuance of conventional Canada mortgage bonds, depending on market conditions and investor demand.
As Canadians do their part to contain the spread of the coronavirus, more than ever, our homes have become a sanctuary—a sacred place of safety and refuge in challenging times. We therefore acted quickly to offer help to Canadians who are having difficulty paying their mortgages or rent.
As the committee knows, the mortgages of millions of Canadian homeowners are insured by CMHC, Genworth Canada, or Canada Guaranty. This insurance protects the lender against default should the homeowner not be able to meet their mortgage obligations.
In the face of significant job and income loss due to COVID-19, we provided lenders with the ability to help homeowners who have been financially impacted by the pandemic. In coordination with private insurers, we're offering, first, temporary deferral of mortgage payments for up to six months; second, mortgage reamoritization so that homeowners can make lower payments over a longer period; and third, adding missed payments to the mortgage balance and spreading them over the repayment period.
We're urging Canadians who can pay their mortgages to do so, to keep our economy going and reserve financial relief for those who need it most.
The same mortgage deferral relief has been made available to our multi-unit clients. These are people who own apartment buildings, for example. In return, we've insisted on patience from landlords, specifically that they refrain from evictions during this crisis.
Meanwhile, we've accelerated support for non-profit and co-op housing providers to ensure that they continue to receive federal rent subsidies so that low-income tenants are not themselves forced from their homes. Again, we made it clear that evictions will not be tolerated.
For renters affected by COVID-19, the first defence is of course the income support measures announced by the Government of Canada, such as the CERB, the temporary salary top-up for low-income essential workers and the increased Canada child benefit. As is the case with mortgage holders, people who can afford to pay their rent must continue to do so.
Direct affordability support to households in housing need is also available in a number of provinces via the Canada housing benefit, which took effect on April 1. We're continuing discussions right now with other provinces and territories to accelerate the flow of this benefit to Canadians in need of assistance.
Finally, CMHC will administer the Canada emergency commercial rent assistance for small business. This program will lower rent by 75% for small businesses that have been affected by the crisis. While the program is not housing related, we were pleased to be called upon to deploy our real estate expertise to help struggling entrepreneurs.
I want to assure the committee that we stand ready to deliver other pandemic-related initiatives should the need arise. A rapid response in the past few weeks reaffirms CMHC's capacity to develop and launch new financial support programs quickly and effectively.
Looking to the future and our recovery, the pandemic has only underscored the importance of housing and our aspiration that by 2030 everyone in Canada has a home that they can afford and that meets their needs. We must continue our work investing in the supply of new housing and promoting urban densification as an answer to the shortage of affordable housing.
In closing, I will add one further thought for committee members. Please take note that almost everything we've done to respond to the crisis involves more borrowing. Governments need to borrow to finance new programs, just as mortgage deferrals add to already historic levels of household indebtedness. However, as Hyman Minsky, the economist, said, debt causes fragility. We leave this crisis less well prepared for the next one, and we must think ahead.
CMHC will share housing market forecasts shortly. I expect it to project a decline in prices. Combined with increasing unemployment, this prospect should give us pause. My colleagues and I are preparing ourselves to help Canadian households without offering bailouts, the tempting short fixes that have perverse long-term economic consequences. In my view, we must also confront the powerful incentives for excessive household borrowing that have contributed to the run-up in house prices.
CMHC was founded to help rebuild our post-war economy. We're at our best when we're responding to crises and helping our country get out the other side. We look forward to continuing our work in housing Canada, post crisis.
Thank you, Chair and committee members. I look forward to answering your questions.