Finance committee  Mr. Chair, Canada has been shifting more of its economy towards housing for a great many years. It hearkens back to really beyond the start of this century.

Finance committee  Mr. Chair, the banks have chosen to allocate their capital towards residential mortgage credit because the demand is there and it remains a very profitable, well-capitalized business.

Finance committee  Mr. Chair, perhaps I'll go back to the question by the honourable member Mr. McLean. In 2015 we had a fairly sizable correction in Vancouver housing—a double digit one. In 2017, following the 2016 boom, we had a similar one in Toronto, and certainly predating those, there were

Finance committee  Mr. Chair, on the first thing, just for a financial stability perspective on the question, we have seen ups and downs in local housing markets and we have not seen the disruptive situations that we saw in other countries, so the buffers that we've put in place worked then and are

Finance committee  Roughly 51% or 52%.

Finance committee  It is unusually high, and it's—

Finance committee  You're right. That is a correct statement. We have—

Finance committee  What per cent of mortgages, Mr. Chair, have 5% down...?

Finance committee  I would have to look into that and come back to the committee, and I will do so.

Finance committee  Typically, yes. That's—

Finance committee  All else being equal, everyone is different and I wouldn't want to make a broad statement—

Finance committee  Factually, I did say words to that effect. Also, factually, investors as a percentage of homebuyers are higher than they've been traditionally. We have a free market. We have a free country. We have a housing system wherein Canadians, if they choose to invest in a second or thi

Finance committee  At a speech in Vancouver, I stated and continue to hold the view that a supply-demand mismatch is a potential issue in that it will tend to produce higher housing prices, and housing prices are already quite high relative to income. The important thing for a superintendent to do

Finance committee  My advice or consultations to the minister are and should be confidential. With respect to the risk to the housing finance system and the broader economy from very high house prices, we're very alert. That explains our actions over the last couple of years, and, indeed, going ba

Finance committee  My consultations with the minister will remain confidential, but I understand she will appear before this committee. That might be a question to ask her.