Mr. Speaker, on October 17, 2016, the Minister of Finance decided to restrict access to home ownership. He blamed it on the overheated housing markets in Vancouver and Toronto.
In Montreal, the average price of a home is $360,000, while in Vancouver, it is over $1 million. The government is proposing a one-size-fits-all solution, even though the markets are completely different.
Going forward, thousands of Quebec families will no longer qualify for a mortgage. Quebec is the only jurisdiction in Canada with a home ownership rate under 70%. Ottawa is regulating a Canadian problem on the backs of first-time home buyers in Quebec, when it should be doing the exact opposite.
The only solution is to have different rules for different markets. It is time for Ottawa to stop imposing its inappropriate measures and finally let Quebec manage its own affairs.