Our House

DoMinion LEnDing CEntRES OUR HOUSE SUMMER 2017 >> 37 (3) iStoCk regulations do not occur until enough time has passed to assess the effects of the first round of changes, and seeing that mortgage regulations treat all mortgage lenders fairly. the situation hasn't stopped MPC and the industry from keeping up the pressure. the organization coordinated its first annual Parliament Hill awareness day in March while also adding a section on its website for advocacy, providing a simple tool to allow brokers to write a letter to their MP. New Rules Hurt At Dominion Lending Centres, the com- pany's president, gary Mauris, provided testimony at the standing committee and met with officials at the Bank of Canada in March. DLC also spearheaded a campaign called new Rules Hurt, which includes a website, newruleshurt.ca, where ordi- nary Canadians can tell their stories of struggle due to the mortgage rule changes. Mauris sees the government's action as a punishment to the rest of country to deal with two hot housing markets in toronto and Vancouver. "the rule changes affected everyone across Canada—hard-working Canadian families that have dreamed of home ownership and they've either achieved it or [they] were looking to purchase a home. those were the ones that were affected in every market," he said. Mauris believes a U.S.-style housing crash isn't possible in Canada. He argues that lenders in Canada are conservative by nature, adding that it's far more difficult to qualify for a mortgage in this country. Mauris also notes how default rates in Canada are the lowest in the world at less than 0.3 per cent. "We are very resilient and the actual quality of loans we approved in Canada for decades have been written to very prudent underwriting standards," he says. "We want the mortgage qualifying rules to be prudent, We want good lending." Mauris does see a silver lining in that the new rules have galvanized the industry to come together and speak up. "the longer we keep sustained pressure, the more Canadians understand the effect [the rule changes are] having, the greater progress we're going to make," he says. " The rule changes affEctEd EvERyONE acROSS caNada —hard- working Canadian families that have dreamed of homeownership and they've either achieved it or [they] were looking to purchase a home. Those were the ones that were affected in every market. " allies in the House the industry appears to have a friend in the official opposition. Conservative MP for Central okanagan-Similkameen-nicola Dan Albas, who also sits on the Standing Committee on Finance, suggested the government was "heavy handed" in bring- ing in the changes, adding his concern there was the lack of consultation with the industry. He also argues that elements of the changes make for a less competitive market, which can put higher costs on consumers. the Conservatives wrote a dissenting report to accompany the standing commit- tee's report, suggesting the measures were "poorly developed and poorly received." the opposition recommended that the changes be reversed and that housing poli- cies in Canada should encourage rather than discourage home ownership. the report added that housing policies should help foster a more competitive mortgage lending industry, rather than favouring the large banks. "While everyone wants to see a stable industry… the problem is they're emphasizing stability at the expense of competitiveness and at the expense of affordability, which in my opinion does not make sense," Albas told Our House Magazine. He also says his party is taking the issue seriously and trying to educate all MPs about the negative effects of the changes. But Albas believes the discussion needs to be had at the community level if the federal government is going to change its mind. ■ to learn more about the industry's efforts visit MPc's website mortgageproscan.ca and newruleshurt.ca.

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