I believe there's a lot the government could do to help.
As I said in my opening speech, there are several areas that each level of government can participate in, and I think the federal government has already taken a really good step by announcing in the current budget the initiative for the owners of geothermal exchanges for ducting, heat pumps and so on. I think the owners can get up to a 30% tax credit, so it's already a really good move.
At the provincial level, I think the easiest way is to widen the lens on surtax exemptions so that anybody who buys an eco-home with these kinds of eco-features can be entitled to an exemption from the land transfer tax, which saves them a couple of thousand dollars.
I think the most important part is at the municipal level. I really think we could be exempt from development charges, which you have a lot of. They should lower the cost to the barest minimum. I think they could also give people an extra incentive of enjoying a discount on their tax bill in the long run. Let's say they pay $3,000 annually, but if they buy an eco-home, they can get a 10% discount on their tax bill. I think this would be a very useful incentive.
I think then everybody would be paying their fair share. They're chipping in to help lower the upfront costs for the builders and at the same time convincing buyers that you can pay a little bit more now, but—