Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to speak about housing.
Since giving my first speech in this House during the throne speech debate, I have pledged to be one of those members who tries to make a difference and tries to make things work.
A wise man was once asked which was the most important level of government: provincial, federal or municipal. The wise man thought for a little while and responded by asking which was the most important leg of a three-legged stool.
We have had the referendum. I must say that I work in this House with all members from all sectors, the independents, the BQ, the Reform Party, the NDP, the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party. There is a lot of talent. Many of us are spending a lot of time on other things when the taxpayers have indicated there are so many restructuring things happening and the Canadian economy needs to be addressed. Yet we get into partisan discussions which are sometimes pretty nonsensical. We talk about devolution, restructuring and downsizing. Some people do not even know what the heck they are talking about with regard to those.
As a member of this House I am going to start talking directly to the Canadian people. They have sent us to this place to do a job. We have talents and we have to use those talents. We must use Canada's resources, both human and natural, to the best advantage for Canadians. Canadians expect to have jobs. They expect to have good health care and they expect to have good housing.
To address one of the points raised by the hon. member of the Reform Party, I remind him that the mortgage insurance premiums charged by the CMHC are sufficient to meet the risks being assumed at no cost to the government. The viability of CMHC's mortgage insurance fund is assessed annually by an independent actuary. An actuarial evaluation of the fund as of September 30, 1994 has confirmed its long term solvency.
Since 1946 CMHC has returned $1 billion in the form of taxes and profits. The mortgage insurance fund contributed an additional $35 million in 1992 to the consolidated revenue fund. The member also needs to be reminded that the activities of the fund contribute to the stable supply of affordable housing for all Canadians, including the handicapped and poor people.
No province has expressed an interest in moving into this sector of the economy. There is no duplication. A change in the market is essential for the viability of the fund. This balances the economic and budgetary risks. Clearly the third party is ignoring 320,000 Canadians who have purchased homes throughout the land with the fund.
Before returning to the substance of the bill I would like to address some comments by a member of the Bloc Quebecois. On one hand we have the Reform Party balance sheet argument. On the other hand I had a lot of sympathy for my friend from the BQ because he was looking at disadvantaged people. He talked about the fact that some of them made only $30,000 and had problems.
I will return to the facts. I say as a mayor of a community that we needed intervention by governments. There were slum landlords. There were cockroaches. There was inadequate housing. The heat would be turned off at certain periods of time. That intervention has brought real standards so that we could have good homes for all Canadians.
The member opposite did not give the correct statistics with regard to the amount of funds spent in Quebec. I will address some of his comments. Between 1986 and 1993 Quebec received 29 per cent of all federal social housing units committed nationwide. In 1994-95 in Quebec $357 million was spent on social housing. The member simply chooses to ignore the importance of that contribution.
That contribution means that 140,000 units of social housing received federal assistance in Quebec. It also means that Canadians in Quebec have benefited from federal programs like the residential rehabilitation assistance program.
One factor the member should be aware of is that the funding for new social housing commitments in Canada has been distributed according to a model established on need. That is why Quebec received 29 per cent of all federal units between 1986 and 1993. Additionally between 1992 and 1994 there were more than 53,000 instances of first home loan insurance for Canadians in Quebec. This is one example of what the federal government can do to assist all Canadians.
This program costs the government nothing. CMHC has returned more than $1 billion in profits and taxes to the federal government. Over and above this amount, the federal government has received $55 million from the mortgage insurance fund. This amount was returned to the consolidated revenue fund in 1992. It is being applied to reduce the federal deficit.
We have a great country in Canada. We have our problems but we have solutions to the problems. When we work collaboratively on the solutions the country will do well. That is why we are the best in the world, between number one and number three. That is why we have good standards.
Notwithstanding that globally we have a lot of structural change, Canadians will come out better because we will apply the programs for which the government was elected. We have the talent to do it and we have the will to do it.
I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak in support of Bill C-108, an act to amend the National Housing Act. This is an administrative bill, the purpose of which is to increase the ceiling of the CMHC mortgage loan insurance from the current $100 billion to $150 billion.
My colleague also described for us the importance of the role of the CMHC's mortgage loan insurance, the importance that it played and continues to play in helping Canadians to have access to home ownership.
Home ownership is a cherished dream held by many Canadians and there are good reasons for it. Home equity is a major portion of wealth accumulated by households and has been a great source of retirement savings for Canadians. The concept of home speaks to one of our basic human needs. Home is a place where people feel secure. Owning a home gives people a stake in their community and a sense of belonging.
Home ownership is a concept that the people of Canada support. That is not likely to change at any time soon. It is therefore critical that CMHC is able to continue to provide mortgage loan insurance to Canadians today and in the future.
One of the most important aspects of CMHC mortgage loan insurance is the public policy mandate to provide equal access to mortgage financing at the lowest possible cost for all Canadians regardless of where they live in Canada. Equal access is achieved through cross-subsidization. Surpluses generated from lower risk businesses are used to fund shortfalls in higher risk businesses.
The public policy mandate of equal access distinguishes the CMHC in a major way from the private insurer. Without access to
CMHC mortgage loan insurance Canadians in some parts of the country would have to come up with a conventional 25 per cent of the value of the house as a down payment. Needless to say, many Canadians would hardly ever be able to purchase a home if this were the case.
CMHC's mortgage insurance is therefore critical in helping Canadians to access home ownership. CMHC has long recognized that the housing financial needs of Canadians are diverse. The corporation's mortgage loan insurance has traditionally demonstrated the flexibility to respond to varying needs.
I refer to an example that has helped hundreds of Canadians realize the affordable home ownership dream. The manufactured housing or mobile home industry has contributed greatly to giving Canadians access to good quality, affordable housing. CMHC has been working in partnership with the manufactured housing industry for many years because of the importance of the housing sector in the economy of Canada as a whole.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation introduced its chattel loan insurance program, known as CLIP, as a five-year experiment in 1988. The objectives of CLIP were twofold: first, to improve access to alternative forms of affordable housing without involving government expenditures and, second, to help place manufactured homes in a more competitive position with conventionally built homes.
CMHC completed an evaluation of CLIP last year which confirmed that the program is an important instrument in increasing access to good quality affordable housing without involving government expenditures. The evaluation also confirmed that CLIP has had a positive impact on the manufactured housing industry and mobile home park developments.
Following the results of the evaluation the minister responsible for CMHC was pleased to announce an expansion of the chattel loans insurance program. As a result it now includes new homes, resale homes and manufactured homes in Canada.
CLIP is an affordable alternative for many of the approximately 335,000 moderate income rental households that could not previously afford to purchase a mobile home. The CMHC and the manufactured housing industry have enjoyed a productive partnership for many years. They have been working together to help Canadians gain access to good quality, affordable housing and to enhance the viability of the industry. The enhancement of CLIP will lead to greater access to mobile homes as affordable options for many Canadians and will encourage growth in the housing industry.
CMHC and the mobile home industry have done their part. The consumers have shown they are interested in mobile homes as a housing option. Certainly there can be no doubt of the importance of NHA insurance in making the program possible.
This is only one example of how NHA mortgage insurance has met the specific need and why NHA mortgage insurance must be maintained as a public policy instrument capable of evolving to meet the future housing needs of Canadians.
With any eye on future needs CMHC is currently working to develop a variety of new housing finance instruments made possible by innovative uses of mortgage loan insurance. In developing new products CMHC is looking to the challenge the creativity of the financial community to ensure that the largest possible number of borrowers can find a product in the marketplace to meet their precise needs. A variety of choices will encourage lenders to compete on a basis of service and product differentiation.
The financial environment in which CMHC's mortgage loan insurance business operates has undergone significant changes in recent years. The introduction of one-stop financial services, the increased use of technological systems to support businesses and operations, and the need to manage expenditures and facilitate better risk management are factors that have had an impact on the way in which CMHC runs its mortgage insurance operations.
CMHC has responded to a changing environment by continually reviewing its processes for delivering mortgage insurance and introducing improvements and efficiencies where needed. Ensuring that CMHC's mortgage loan insurance remains relevant and capable of responding to the changing housing and financial needs of Canadians adds a major focus to the activity of the corporation.
CMHC is now focusing on the introduction of new processing mechanisms which will utilize the capabilities or electronic communications between CMHC and its approved lender clients. The enhancements will allow the corporation to serve better the needs of the Canadian housing consumer.
Mortgage loan insurance has played a significant public policy role in the past. CMHC's stewardship will continue to evolve to meet the changing needs of Canadians and the financial community.