Natural Resources committee  When it comes to the affordability gap with respect to energy efficiency, there's not much of a difference in terms of high-price markets versus low-price markets, because we're really talking about additional costs of construction. What's driving prices in the larger urban centr

Natural Resources committee  Yes.

Natural Resources committee  I certainly would.

Natural Resources committee  Certainly.

Natural Resources committee  There is definitely a major issue right now in Canada in terms of rising government-imposed taxes. They come in all kinds of forms. There are the regulation aspects. There are all kinds of fees, development charges, etc. Every level of government is imposing them, and there have

Natural Resources committee  We're certainly seeing a skilled trades shortage all across the residential construction industry, both in new construction and in renovations. It means that costs are going up. The availability of workers so that you can get a job done is scarce, so we definitely need to be gett

Natural Resources committee  Thank you very much. For decades the Canadian Home Builders' Association and the home building industry at large, in collaboration with government research agencies, has continually innovated to improve the performance of homes on a voluntary basis. In relation to energy efficie

Finance committee  I haven't seen much tax spending to reduce house prices. Can you give me an example? I fail to know of one.

Finance committee  Yes, and I think it's really important that we draw the distinction between affordable housing and housing affordability. There have been a lot of investments. Certainly the current government, with its national housing strategy, came out with a national social housing strategy,

Finance committee  That's exactly right, and when we look at energy efficiency and housing, particularly new housing, we're doing incredibly well and have been for a long time. We're 50% better now than we were 25 years ago in new housing, and we continue to improve. The next changes are going to b

Finance committee  We need to get more supply on track. We need to find ways to help them with down payments and we need to do something about the mortgage rules we have in place right now to recognize that first-time homebuyers are the lowest-risk group of people of all ages in terms of risk and d

Finance committee  There's no question that it's knocking people out of the housing market to a pretty significant degree. That affects jobs. It affects construction. Unfortunately, it affects jobs and construction in the most extreme manner in the areas that can least afford to have it happen, in

Finance committee  Thank you. As you've mentioned, the theme of this year's pre-budget consultations revolves around enhancing Canada's competitiveness. The quality of life offered by Canadian communities, frequently rated as among the highest in the world, is a competitive advantage, and it's clo

Finance committee  I'm just passing on what Canadians feel in terms of what drives the underground economy. In terms of the size of the underground economy—

Finance committee  The underground economy in Canada is estimated to be around $20 billion at least. The opportunity to bring it above board is very much a function of how we change cultural norms, because that's really what it comes down to.