Finance committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Mr. Chair, for this opportunity to appear before you today. I'm here as CEO of the Canadian Real Estate Association, which represents 86,000 realtors in Canada who contribute to the economy and the life in their communities, large and

Finance committee  No. The proposal is specifically designed for rental income property, to allow it to simply defer the tax on capital gains, provided the funds are reinvested.

Finance committee  Yes, I know, but we've done sufficient research now. We believe we can work with the government to achieve a result that is going to benefit Canadians in Canada and allow reinvestment of those funds, as opposed to having people just sit on the funds, as I pointed out in my commen

Finance committee  It is not our industry specifically; it is for Canadian consumers. It's Canadian consumers who are the investors here, not the real estate brokers, not the members of our association.

Finance committee  Because real estate only is not involved. Stocks and other areas can be transferred, but not this particular sector. I think there's been a problem with this sector. Why not real estate?

Finance committee  I would ask Dr. McKellar, who is our expert and who has done considerable research over a period of time, to address that specific question.

Finance committee  Statistics show that homeowners have saved 28% annually in energy costs. In our view, that’s a good enough reason to maintain the program. This program was established in 2003 to provide funding to homeowners that wanted to have their home evaluated as to their level of energy co

Finance committee  No, I don’t have that data.

Finance committee  This program exists since 1992 and it has been very successful. Statistics show that it is quite popular. There are no statistics showing that certain homebuyers would not have bought their home if they had not been able to avail themselves of this program. It is, however, quit

Finance committee  Basically, the recommendation is to restore the funding for EnerGuide for houses and low-income houses.

Finance committee  We believe it's a program that was working. We believe the program, however, should remain a voluntary program. It should not be imposed; it should be voluntary.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. On behalf of the 95,000 members of our association who are realtors in this country, I wish to thank you for allowing us to present before your committee today. Our members, Mr. Chairman, are small business people who are involved in their community and

Finance committee  Well, if you look at what has happened and the predictions that are made for the future, then by and large, I think, we're looking at a stabilization of the experience that we've seen with respect to prices and with respect to the market itself. We have experienced in the last y

Finance committee  In certain areas, yes, but you can't talk for all markets. You have to remember that the situation in Canada is totally different from what was experienced in the States.

Finance committee  Well, let's look at what's happening with the homebuyers plan. If you look at its effectiveness since 1992 in Canada, if you look at the experience last year where 53,000 homes were bought in 2006 using that particular plan, you're looking at a plan that enables Canadians not onl