The Canadian Real Estate Association’s (CREA) CEO, Michael Bourque, was recently invited to address the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance (FINA) on Bill C-97, Budget Implementation Act.
On May 9, Bourque spoke to the committee about recent REALTOR® advocacy positions included in Budget 2019 and the impact of the B-20 Mortgage Regulations (a.k.a. the stress test) on housing markets in Canada.
“Two years ago, the government launched the first-ever national housing strategy to help give Canadians a place to call home, and we strongly support the Budget 2019 efforts to make this a permanent and ongoing effort,” Bourque told the committee. “Long-term investments, such as the rental construction financing initiative, will help move people along the housing spectrum from social housing to rental apartments and into their own home.”
Bourque touched on how millennials, small-business owners and new Canadians are anxious to buy homes, but are faced with challenges previous generations weren’t exposed to, such as B-20 rules that force home buyers to save more money for the same amount of home.
He ended by saying Budget 2019 has many positive home buying initiatives and CREA will continue to advocate for additional policy innovation within the housing sector.
You can read his speech in its entirety here.
