Our members - nearly 800 member-owned and managed non-profit housing co-operatives - are located in all parts of Canada. There are 52,000 households living in our member co-ops, and we represent a further 13,000 co-op households in Quebec. They play an important role in providing safe, affordable housing to Canadians. As the Committee knows, most of Canada’s housing co-operatives were put in place between 1970 and 1992 under programs administered by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. These programs were designed with two main purposes: to increase the supply of affordable housing to those Canadians who do not own their own homes and to provide income-tested assistance to lower-income Canadians to help meet their housing costs. Our members are examples of the benefits of secure, affordable housing. It is a lasting legacy created by previous Liberal administrations. But many Canadians still do not have that security. We believe an investment by the federal government in a new affordable housing supply program is urgently needed.