Human Resources committee  As I mentioned in my remarks, I think that escalating house prices is a serious issue for Canadians. I was very happy recently to see OSFI in the Department of Finance taking some steps so that people would not be taking on excessive debt when house prices are so escalated. I view that as being very serious for the stability of the housing finance system.

Human Resources committee  There's a lack of supply.

Human Resources committee  The final terms and conditions of version two of the rapid housing initiative are still being developed, and as soon as we have clarity on that, we'll provide them to the public. Under all circumstances, we want to make sure for all proponents that the application process is simple and that we reduce any rework or any additional administrative burdens.

Human Resources committee  As you know, an essential aspect of the national housing strategy is a national housing strategy act, which makes the commitment that Canada views housing as a right, and we're working towards the progressive realization of that right. In the last year, we saw the establishment of the National Housing Council.

Human Resources committee  I haven't had a chance to look at the recommendations in great detail, but I have taken a high-level overview of them. Obviously we wait for the response by the government in terms of how we would respond to the recommendations. In the event that CMHC is responsible for any of these responses or the action plans, we're ready to support any type of implementation.

Human Resources committee  At CMHC, we are very committed to addressing homelessness in Canada. We view this as something that is very important to address. We're very pleased to have been entrusted with delivering the first $1 billion of the rapid housing initiative. We're very pleased again to receive an additional $1.5 billion, given the need, and we're here to follow the direction of government and are prepared to make sure that, whatever funds are made available to address homelessness, we get this money out to the communities and organizations that are serving homeless people on a day-to-day basis.

Human Resources committee  First of all, I think there are two aspects to my optimism. One is that CMHC is a great Canadian institution. I'm very blessed to be surrounded by employees who are committed to doing their best to serve Canadians. We have employees who are distributed across the country, and their jobs are to help proponents gain access to very important federal funding that supports the development of affordable housing across the country.

Human Resources committee  As I stated, I think the pandemic has created a situation where there is a greater divide between the haves and the have-nots.

Human Resources committee  One of the privileges I've had in working at CMHC is that I've had the opportunity to serve many indigenous communities. I recognize that in delivering federal government programs, there's systemic racism built into some of the assumptions we have in how we set our criteria and develop programs.

Human Resources committee  However, at the same time, I think there is a public mood where we actually see these inequalities. I think there is huge public support for making the necessary investments to make sure that the gap between the haves and the have-nots is closed. I'm very optimistic that post-pandemic, there is a great opportunity to make investments—

Human Resources committee  I'd like to point out that the mortgage insurance system that exists in Canada is a legislative requirement. CMHC and two other private companies provide mortgage insurance. As you know, it's a legislative requirement for people who don't have a 20% deposit on their houses to purchase the mortgage insurance and—

Human Resources committee  That's fair enough. With respect to Burnaby, as I mentioned, for the three RHI projects, we just received the $1.5 billion in housing. A number of projects are on hold—

Human Resources committee  As I mentioned previously, we have been working very assiduously with our proponents to reduce the administrative burden. We have a fantastic group in B.C. that is working with proponents in Burnaby to make their applications a reality. Burnaby has been successful in receiving seed funding for those projects.

Human Resources committee  I would like to thank MP Gazan for her kind words of congratulation. With respect to the RCFI program specifically, I always like to think of the national housing strategy as a very broad tent. The housing continuum is very broad, and although most of the programs are focused on more deeply affordable housing, we want to include programs that support the rental sector.

Human Resources committee  At CMHC, we have a group that is responsible for delivering housing programs to indigenous communities and Canadians who live in the north. There are probably about 70 people in that group, and their sole objective is to make sure all the programs under the national housing strategy are available to indigenous Canadians.