Finance committee  There are three other possibilities. Basically, the GST can already be refunded in the case of new housing. That refund is connected to the price of the home, the value of which may reach $350,000 before taxes. That refund was introduced when the GST was brought in, in order to

Finance committee  A program to assist with downpayments is the second recommendation in our brief. This could be an amount corresponding to that which has already been saved for a downpayment. For instance, if people have already saved $10,000, $12,000 or $15,000, the government could lend that am

Finance committee  Following the 2012 announcement to shorten the amortization period from 30 to 25 years, there was a 21% housing start reduction in Quebec, an 8% decrease in resale. The impact of that shortening had the result of pricing out 39,000 households in Quebec. They were not necessarily

Finance committee  To answer your question about the percentage or proportion of those purchasers who use a down payment of 20% or less, we ran a survey about a year ago for all the Quebec market. We have an estimate of something like 68% of all purchases would be with 20% of a down payment or less

Finance committee  Those statistics, to be more precise, relate to the past five-year period, so I cannot speak to which rules were in effect at what time. You're right; the stress test and other rules were put in, but one of the most popular terms for a mortgage—and our colleagues here will correc

Finance committee  There are of course specific, localized problems which are largely a function of demand. For our part, though, given the current situation and the reality in Quebec, our best suggestion for resolving the situation is to help buyers amass a larger down payment. As a result, they w

Finance committee  From a mechanical point of view and at first glance, there is no cost to the government, since the tax deduction applies when the money is saved and deposited into an RRSP. Withdrawing an amount from an RRSP and using it for a home buyer's plan would not cost the government anyth

Finance committee  Not specifically. I can, however, make two comments based on my limited knowledge of tax matters. First, contributions that are not repaid as they should be over 15 years, a period that begins two years after the funds are withdrawn, are added to the person's income, and that a

Finance committee  Yes, of course, but there is a stimulative effect as well as tax benefits for the government when a home is purchased, whether it is a new build or a resale home. There are economic benefits for the government.

Finance committee  Likewise, to echo the comments of our two colleagues here, we were not consulted, although we did raise these issues in early November with the staff at the Minister of Finance's office. I'll pick up very specifically on your point about the effect there. In Quebec, 40% of the b

Finance committee  For our part, we are not systematically consulted.

Finance committee  No.

Finance committee  The housing sector, which includes new construction, residential renovation, repairs, and maintenance, is an important sector. In 2015, the economic value of this sector in Canada was over $133 billion, or close to 7% of the GDP. In Quebec, its value was $26 billion, or close to