Public Accounts committee  I meet with the minister on a regular basis.

Public Accounts committee  Yes, I have.

Public Accounts committee  As part of our regular process, the minister would review the action plans proposed by CMHC and Infrastructure Canada and would have the opportunity to ask questions and approve it.

Public Accounts committee  Yes. The bank, like many other organizations, had a total performance system that included bonuses and other benefits.

Public Accounts committee  When we're looking at our total compensation, it's based on performance. We also do benchmarking on a regular basis to make sure that our compensation package is aligned with comparators in the private sector as well as the public service. CMHC has a dual mandate. We provide a competitive insurance product and compete with the private sector for employees.

Public Accounts committee  The national housing strategy started as a $40-billion program. It's grown to a $70-billion program. It's a very ambitious initiative, and I would encourage the government to expand its scope. We at CMHC are committed to making sure that the funds are directed to those most in need.

Public Accounts committee  The national housing strategy is composed of a number of different programs. The level of affordability that is targeted is different depending on the program. There are a number of programs that are very targeted and directed toward vulnerable populations. For example, the rapid housing initiative was a program that was developed during the COVID crisis.

Public Accounts committee  Thank you for that question, Mr. Chair. CMHC believes that increasing the supply of housing is absolutely important to increasing the affordability of housing. One of the barriers to bringing supply online is the lack of skilled trades in many regions across Canada. There are many programs at the provincial or territorial level to increase the number of students going into the skilled trades.

Public Accounts committee  There are roughly 2,400 employees.

Public Accounts committee  I don't have the precise number, but I would guess about 40%.

Public Accounts committee  CMHC is responsible for the overall national housing strategy and all its targets. We work in collaboration with Infrastructure Canada on the homelessness target.

Public Accounts committee  Thank you very much for the question, Mr. Chair. As a point of clarification, when I talk to people about the housing crisis in Canada, I like to describe it from two perspectives. About 95% of the housing in Canada is created by the private sector. Less than 5% is community or social housing.

Public Accounts committee  I should clarify that the 160,000 new units are the target for the 10-year period of the national housing strategy. To date, 115,000 units have been funded. As you know, construction takes time, so these projects are at various stages of completion. Of the 115,000 units, approximately 45,000 are for deeply affordable housing, if that's your question.

Public Accounts committee  The only thing I would add is that CMHC's programs often provide the capital funding for the actual structure of the housing that is required to house veterans or some of the other vulnerable groups that we mentioned. We work very closely with Infrastructure Canada, but also other departments, to make sure that there is a coordinated access of these vulnerable groups to our programs.

Public Accounts committee  As I mentioned earlier, when we accept an application for our funding, we ask for information about the vulnerable groups that the proponent is targeting, and we have a governance process to ensure that when the project is completed, the units are actually being occupied by the vulnerable groups that have been identified.