Human Resources committee  Yes, absolutely. It has to be based on household income. A unit that costs 50% of the market price can be said to be affordable, but if the rent doubles, the household occupants would no longer be able to pay it because their income would not have doubled. A unit that costs no more than 30% of the household's income is therefore an adequate target.

Human Resources committee  In Quebec, it's tricky. The Société d'habitation du Québec is responsible for allocating funds. Municipalities are clearly better suited and know the area better. Montreal has a particular status, as does Quebec City, I think. In Quebec, the problem is that it can lead to disagreements, which would delay investments.

Human Resources committee  We have experience in Montreal North, a neighbourhood that's home to a lot of newcomers. We have developed territorial strategies. We do a lot of projects in which the area must be considered and services offered. We not only offer housing; we create a community. Our vision is to create united and inclusive communities in these urban centres.

Human Resources committee  I'll try to answer the question correctly. At this time, there's a lot of capital to remove housing units from the market. Adding capital to remove units from the market will lead to an increase in prices. Regardless, going against the market isn't possible. To reduce pressure, 400,000 or 500,000 additional housing units would be needed in Canada all at once.

Human Resources committee  First, the strategy is to get as many units off the market as possible over the short term. To do that, funds are needed. Second, we can wait for two, three or four years. We've acquired buildings in the past, and it took 20 years to make them into subsidized housing. Funding must be available to get through the transition period, which can be quite long.

Human Resources committee  We need to understand that the situation is complex. In the last two projects we carried out, we were dealing with heritage issues. They were heritage buildings, magnificent buildings with land. However, we needed a year and a half to two years for the entire process. There are limits, regulatory procedures, that can't be avoided.

Human Resources committee  It's also true for municipalities. The problem is that quick action is needed. There's also the whole issue surrounding entrepreneurship. The management of public funds imposes some constraints. More flexible funds are needed at the outset to get off the market long enough to properly analyze public funds, investments.

Human Resources committee  Okay. Indeed, it is important for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the CMHC, to be able to make investments like the ones it made in this fund, but they could be combined with others. I'm more familiar with Quebec than the other provinces. We had a lot of help from the Fonds de solidarité FTQ and the Lucie and André Chagnon Foundation before the funds were available.

Human Resources committee  Okay. I'll finish the description of our organization. Our owned assets total close to $150 million. Our managed assets total $150 million, and our assets in development total $100 million. We're active in seven boroughs in Montreal, and our work team is made up of 45 people. Thank you very much.

Human Resources committee  Good morning. I first want to thank you for giving us the opportunity to share our viewpoint with you on the issue of housing acceleration in Canada. I'll discuss this issue from an angle that will undoubtedly be a bit different from the other witnesses. Like all of you, we feel it's important to quickly and considerably increase the supply of housing, particularly in large urban centres, which are experiencing a long-term housing shortage, particularly affordable and social housing.