Finance committee  Just to pick up on that point, Mr. Chairman, over time, because the GST rebate thresholds have not been adjusted or, as we would phrase it, indexed to rising house prices, we see less and less new home purchases across the country, particularly in our larger urban markets, able t

Finance committee  I think your last point is a very important one. I would suggest, respectfully, that there isn't a connection between the GST rebate and the conditions that prevailed in the housing market in the U.S.

Finance committee  I say that in the sense that we haven't had, fortunately, loose mortgage lending requirements in Canada. With respect to what's happening to new home buyers, if we go back to 1991, say in a city like Vancouver, a reasonable percentage of new home buyers in that market were able

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As our president has noted, the concern we have is that with the harmonized sales tax, which is a consumption tax, we are adding to the tax burden for renovations. We believe that will lead to even more underground cash activity. In order to counter that

Finance committee  Mr. Chair, one of the matters that Mr. Lind raised in his presentation was the need for reforms to Canada's tax regime for private rental investment. We're not measuring up to projected requirements in this country, and therefore, in relation to the entire issue of housing afford

Finance committee  Mr. Chair, we're very fortunate in Canada not to be going through the experience they've had in the United States with the sub-prime market. At the moment there is no evidence that we are faced with such a problem. Nevertheless, the Canadian Home Builders' Association believes th

Finance committee  As long as they go through to the home purchaser in the mortgage insurance system, that's fine by us. We just want to make sure that this system continues to do what it's been successful in doing, and that's benefiting homebuyers, particularly given that there's a government guar

Finance committee  Mr. Chairman, I think I'm going to avoid this. I must say I found it interesting thinking. I would like to just take a brief moment. One of the members did mention the concern about prior analysis and consultations on this entire matter, and that is something that has concerned t

Finance committee  Mr. Chairman, our concern is that the benefits of the mortgage insurance system continue to go to home purchasers. I think the first panel clearly said that the relationship is between the mortgage insurer and the lender. We just don't want to see what we call rebates, allowances

Finance committee  We believe that this vigorous competition has got us this far. Others who are entering the business have said they have new products, ideas, and so on that they can introduce to Canada and its mortgage insurance system. We believe that should be allowed to happen. Let there be mo

Finance committee  I don't know that for sure. It certainly has been suggested, and if that suggestion has any viability at all, it shows that competition does work.

Finance committee  The more recent ones are the low down-payment mortgages, portability of mortgages and mortgage insurance, coverage for the self-employed, speedy approval processes for potential borrowers, longer amortization periods, and reductions in mortgage insurance premiums. There are other

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, the Canadian Home Builders' Association is not in favour of delay. We have set out what we believe are conditions that should be focused on very carefully. We're hearing today very strongly from at least one member that he believes those conditions,

Finance committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and committee members. I'm here to represent the views of the Canadian Home Builders' Association. Canada has one of the best mortgage systems in the world, if not the best, as evidenced by the high rate of home ownership and high levels of owne