Finance committee  As for the tax credit, it's quite simple: the maximum amount is $750. The purchase of a home, however, involves many other costs that all crop up at the same time. We felt that the federal government could help to improve the situation at that point by increasing the tax credit.

Finance committee  I would add that certain governments have put in place similar downpayment-related measures. The Government of British Columbia has just announced that it will be offering assistance for downpayments on the purchase of a first home, up to $37,000, or 5% of the value of a home cos

Finance committee  I would like to add something. Regardless of the program or government measure that we are looking at, I am sure we will find exceptions or that people will find ways of misusing it. Our public policies must not be developed based on possible exceptions, but rather by considerin

Finance committee  The government is now spending money to stimulate the economy. This could perhaps be a way of using those investments while also encouraging home ownership.

Finance committee  I did not say that you—

Finance committee  Sure. It is good for a government to protect citizens on indebtedness, but from our point of view, the decision that the government made was not the best one to help them have the best asset they can have, to buy a home. You talk about houses in your place that are sold for $1.4

Finance committee  We would now like to draw your attention to the four recommendations we make in our brief. These four recommendations could help the government achieve its objectives of preserving the integrity of the financial market, protecting households from excessive debt, and containing th

Finance committee  I will. Secondly, in order to facilitate down payments, we recommend that a measure be created to help first-time buyers make a down payment. Third, we recommend increasing the GST rebate on new homes for first-time buyers. Fourth, we recommend increasing the tax credit for fi

Finance committee  Hello and thank you very much. My name is François Vincent and I am the policy director of the Association des professionnels de la construction et de l'habitation du Québec. With me is Georges Lambert, our senior economist. Founded in 1961, the APCHQ now represents 17,000 sma