Thank you very much.
I represent a riding, Kingston, in which we have the lowest vacancy rate in Ontario, and arguably in the country. We desperately need housing, and in particular affordable housing, as a result of having such a low vacancy rate.
Having said that, I've had the opportunity to work with housing providers, both of them in the Kingston area, and through that work, to have worked with CMHC and the various programs that have come along through the years for building affordable housing.
The national affordable housing strategy that has been introduced, using the $11 billion from the federal government, has the potential to leverage $40 billion nationally. The criticism that has come as a result of it is, “We need the money now. It all has to come right now.”
How would CMHC respond if a cheque arrived for $40 billion and it was told to spend that money immediately? How would that situation impact the individual not-for-profit housing corporations? In particular, how would they manage it?