No it wasn’t the banks that decided. The government and the CMHC forced the banks to offer the mortgage deferrals. What you think each of the big 6 just decided to offer the exact deferral program on the exact same dates? Evan Siddal said very clearly that anyone who needs a deferral will get one. Of course “need” turned into “want”.

I agree. However it was the banks decision to allow payment deferrals and not the government. The banks benefited as well from the deferrals since the avoided potential defaults, lowered their LTV ratios as property values increased, and increased the profits by capitalizing the deferred interest which is now compounding interest for the life of the mortgage. Banks win, borrowers win and renters, savers, and working class lose as always.

If I were a restaurant owner, I don’t know why I would care about future income when rent is due now. Give me those savings! And you could prevent savings from going into non-productive sectors by taxing housing at a more progressive rate and creating a real public housing sector.

I don’t get why savings is important to the economy, when it only means that it’s money that people aren’t spending.

What makes you think the govt will ever support renters? They will always help the land lord until their last breath even if it means sacrificing renters at the alter

But… one person’s savings is also another person’s future income. We need to stop viewing savings as a “leakage”. Safe, secure savings are an important component of long term economic growth. Something we’ve come to ignore with our obsession over “stimulus” and loose monetary policy.

This store of savings will play an important role in any future economic recovery. If we let it. On the other hand, if we keep interest rates at zero, then much of that savings will end up just being used for down payments, driving house prices up farther. If you can’t get a return on your money in the bank, gambling on real estate comes to be seen as the “safer” alternative.

No mortgage deferrals should be given to anyone with multiple residential properties period.

The government knew the math, they did it to prop up real estate prices. They pushed inequality further, benefiting only speculators and screwing young families. The Liberals lied to us in the election about foreign ownership tax.

Well yes but Trudeau’s objective is to protect the housing market for foreign speculators. He’s not in office to represent the interests of Canadians.

Not to mention that renters weren’t given the option to defer their rent. The government forced banks to give mortgage borrowers a 6-month payment holiday without extending the same courtesy to renters.