Finance committee  I'm Matthew Boldt, housing finance, Department of Finance.

Finance committee  Sure, I can talk about that. The measure in the bill is to amend the National Housing Act to increase the enforced limits for both guarantees issued by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and mortgage default insurance provided by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Finance committee  Yes, that's correct. The government announced in September 2023 that it was increasing the Canada mortgage bond issuance limit by $20 billion annually—from $40 billion to $60 billion per year. The intention of that change is to unlock additional low-cost financing for multi-unit rental housing construction.

Finance committee  I can say that we've talked to CMHC. Their estimate is that the additional financing that can be unlocked here can facilitate the construction of up to 30,000 new rental units annually in communities across Canada. That estimate is based on past Canada mortgage bond funding activity to support multi-unit housing.