International Trade committee  Absolutely, and there were literally hundreds of organizations like ours that were signatories to documents to the effect that we really need to do everything we can to keep our trade routes open, secure and safe at all times. I think the pandemic brought some very bizarre situations that nobody would have predicted, but, to your point, there are all kinds of situations that come up all the time, and everything we can do to keep businesses moving, to keep trade moving and to keep product moving is absolutely critical to our economy and the well-being of Canadians.

International Trade committee  There's certainly no question, with all of the challenges we've been facing through the pandemic with the supply chain, that blockades of international borders were a challenge that no industry needed to compound everything else that was going on. It was certainly important that those blockades be removed as quickly as possible, and I think it's important, looking into the future, that Canada does all it can at all times to make sure trade routes remain open, healthy, safe and secure.

International Trade committee  I'm sorry; the question that came through the interpretation was, “What are the costs that are affecting young people attempting to buy their first home?”

International Trade committee  Thank you very much. I have dropped the interpretation, so I understand your question better, but I'll answer it in English. In terms of first-time homebuyers, obviously the increase in house prices all across the country has been quite dramatic. We are facing a real supply and demand imbalance.

International Trade committee  I think there are a few things that get impacted there. First, we know that when prices go up, they go up fast, and that gets passed on to the user very quickly. We also know that as prices come down, that price stays higher for both builders and consumers, so it's a much slower descent than it is on the way up.

International Trade committee  Yes, they absolutely are, when they can. Sometimes it's so volatile that you couldn't have foreseen it, which was definitely part of the issue early on in the pandemic.

International Trade committee  Yes, it definitely is. You're always trying to do your best job to estimate the price of all input costs—labour, materials, etc.—so, yes, if you see escalating lumber prices, then you have to price your products accordingly.

International Trade committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. The Canadian Home Builders' Association is the voice of Canada's residential construction industry. We represent some 9,000 member firms from coast to coast, including home builders, renovators, trade contractors, product and material manufacturers and building suppliers and services.

Finance committee  Making sure that we know what the communities of Canada should look like in the future is a really important role of the federal government. It addresses Nimbyism. It addresses density. There have been a few questions about the rapid housing initiative. Our modular construction council members have been heavily engaged in it.

Finance committee  Exactly. There is a huge opportunity. The federal government makes big, important commitments to infrastructure. There is no reason these can't and shouldn't be tied to the housing Canadians need.

Finance committee  I think there has only been a little bit of movement, from my knowledge at least, on that front, but we can look into it more. It is an obvious and big opportunity. The federal government does own lands in many very opportune places that would be great for providing all forms of housing for Canadians.

Finance committee  Thanks for the questions. Obviously what COVID has done is given a different look to many commercial spaces that we expect will be permanent and long-lasting. The ability to bring more residents into different areas—a lot of the time these will be in more urban cores—is a great opportunity.

Finance committee  Yes, we deal with lumber every day. It's a huge challenge right now. It is another situation of supply and demand. We've seen a huge increase in demand for housing of all forms across North America and the lumber industry has had a very hard time catching up with the slowdowns early on in the pandemic and an unexpected boom in housing.

Finance committee  Yes. There are certainly lots of opportunities to streamline things, and we do think there is a federal role. Obviously, most of that occurs at the local level and somewhat at the provincial level, but there is a leadership role and an analysis role that the federal government can play to help streamline that and also help municipalities get things done faster.

Finance committee  I think there are probably two different areas. One, which I spoke to, was the ability to provide more objective information through CMHC on zoning issues and on some of the better practices that can be used to help accelerate getting more market-rate supply into the market at the municipal level.