Ottawa will continue to monitor housing market: Finance Minister Bill Morneau
TORONTO — Ottawa will continue to monitor the real estate market and take the necessary actions to ensure that an uptick in interest rates or a decline in home prices don’t threaten the country’s financial stability, Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau said Friday.
“I will continue to act to ensure that household debt levels are sustainable, that lenders are acting prudently and that increases in interest rates or a housing market downturn don’t risk the economic growth we are working so hard to accelerate,” Morneau said in a speech to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
“These are not easy decisions, but I know they are the right thing to do.”
Morneau said he’s “ultimately responsible” for maintaining the stability of the country’s financial system and highlighted mortgage rules as a “key tool” to help him do that.