Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her question. The corporation and the Government of Canada are responding to the housing need.
In the construction industry housing is a major motor of the Canadian economy. When the housing sector falters the whole system falters. Many people are looking for jobs right now. In my earlier dissertation I alluded to the fact that nobody in the private markets is not responding.
The initiative does not cost the government a cent. Using my old hat as mayor of Owen Sound, we have had private sector and CMHC interventions. The main role of CMHC is to make sure that handicapped people are looked after, that the heating requirements and other construction requirements are met before they are allowed insurance. There has to be a balance in the system. If the government intervenes too much it probably affects the private sector people. In the communities there is a groundswell to keep that from happening.
I assure the member there is a need for the initiative. Infusion in this category is probably better than putting it in other places because of the spinoff effects of building homes in communities. There will be a multiplier effect on the dollar and job creation. The activity it will create in the hardware store, the corner store and for construction workers, et cetera, will be enormous.
It is simply that there is a real need and it is a great thing to happen. As I have said before, health, work and housing are the three most important things for Canadians. This initiative helps those exactly.