Finance committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Ladies and gentlemen, it is a pleasure to be here today. It's my pleasure to be here today. I appreciate the opportunity to convey our thoughts on Budget 2015. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is the national voice of municipal go

Finance committee  Housing that is affordable for newcomers, young families, the middle class, and seniors lays the groundwork for a healthy community and makes good economic sense. The housing sector represents 20% of Canada's GDP. A stable and secure housing system is essential to community and e

Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  I don't think so, but I would say that the costs that will be incurred by municipalities across the country are much greater than had ever been anticipated, when we start looking at what we have to do to bring it up to standard support—

Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  That's correct.

Finance committee  That's correct, sir.

Finance committee  It is one that we certainly subscribe to. We don't think any level should be responsible for or should have to take on the burden all to itself.

Finance committee  Well, I think the funding going our way is actually going your way as well. What we're here promoting is our hometowns, and these belong to you. They belong to federal members, provincial members, and of course municipalities, but we are right there in the trenches every day, so

Finance committee  We are actually looking at the financial portion of the partnering. As I stated, it really isn't or shouldn't be up to any one level of government to take on this financial burden. At $18 billion it's just too much. Municipalities are willing to step up to the plate with a one-

Finance committee  Not very much at all.

Finance committee  It would be a very small portion, for sure. Whether it's 10%, or 12%, or 15%, it would be a very small portion.

Finance committee  Thank you very much for the question. For two decades we've seen housing prices skyrocket, while building of rental housing has stagnated and social housing is eroding. The lack of options for all Canadians has put housing affordability at the centre of our economic challenges.

Finance committee  I don't think that municipalities are really capable of handling anything by themselves, just as it is for the federal government or provincial governments. What the Federation of Canadian Municipalities is all about is creating partnerships, softening or lightening up the challe

Finance committee  That's a great question and it has come up. As a matter of fact, in other programs that involved the one-third, one-third, one-third, it didn't necessarily mean that some of the smaller communities even had one-third to come to the table. That's always been a concern. I think w