Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. For the government, the national housing strategy was the first big stride in terms of our UN commitment to a progressive realization of a right to housing. Then there was the National Housing Strategy Act, which enacted some participatory mechanisms, such

Finance committee  Again, a solutions lab is meant to start with a housing challenge that we're trying to get some insight on. From there, participants are invited from various sectors. In the case of Dr. Kershaw, as he mentioned, we invited builders and developers and so forth, but in other cases,

Finance committee  No, it has not.

Finance committee  It will not seek tax advice from CMHC. It will seek advice on housing programs and so forth.

Finance committee  Mr. Chair, again, this is only one solutions lab. As was mentioned, we have other solutions labs. We do have other research projects as well as other conversations with other parties. The federal government, the provincial governments, municipal governments, the private sector an

Finance committee  Mr. Chair, I do not think that.

Finance committee  If Canadians think that housing is an investment, we do not have a lot of other vehicles in Canada whereby we permit somebody to buy a house with 5% down and be able to.... Yes, there are other costs for sure. I don't dispute any of that. It's just that we can't dispute that ther

Finance committee  Mr. Chair, I'll reiterate that solutions labs doesn't start with a solution but with a problem that we're trying to solve, or that groups are trying to solve. It brings numerous people together to have discussions, to investigate, to analyze this. Again, it has no predetermined c

Finance committee  Mr. Chair, there are obviously a lot of costs involved in housing. In B.C., in the greater Vancouver area, for example, land is a critical cost as well. It makes up to 80% of the cost of a housing unit. As we encourage supply and reduce red tape, it will certainly, first of all,

Finance committee  Mr. Chair, yes, that is still our position. Again, a solutions lab, by its very nature, doesn't start with a solution but with a housing challenge, and Dr. Kershaw has done a great job over the last two meetings of defining the problem they were looking at.

Finance committee  Thank you for the question. It was the Finance Minister who decided to impose this tax. This will have an impact, but I don't think it will necessarily be significant. If the property is owned by a foreign person or company, but that company or person rents the residence, we don

Finance committee  I can confirm that, yes.

Finance committee  As of March 31, 2021, it has helped nearly 11,000 Canadian households access houses with a lower monthly payment, including approximately $60 million in Alberta and $60 million in Quebec. It has been less successful, obviously, in the large urban areas like Toronto and Vancouver.

Finance committee  There are two aspects to that. One, we do have a multiple insurance product that is for more affordable housing, so they do get an additional premium for that. Again, this is more about ensuring that there is supply in the market, because the solution is more supply, and the mo

Finance committee  Thank you for the question.