Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) is a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Canada. Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean. It is the world’s second largest country by total area, and shares land borders with the United States to the south and northwest.
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage (a legal instrument). However, the word mortgage alone, in everyday usage, is most often used to mean mortgage loan.
A home buyer or builder can obtain financing (a loan) either to purchase or secure against the property from a financial institution, such as a bank, either directly or indirectly through intermediaries. Features of mortgage loans such as the size of the loan, maturity of the loan, interest rate, method of paying off the loan, and other characteristics can vary considerably.
CMHC is responsible for the housing industry in Canada. Its main duty is currently to ensure low cost mortgage loans are available to Canadians by providing insurance to lenders in case of defaults and homebuyer assistance. The borrower can pay lower interest costs when the loan is insured but the borrower has to pay the insurance premiums so it is uncertain as to whether the CMHC is helping the borrower reduce financing costs.
Since 1954 one in three Canadian home buyers have made use of CMHCs programs. The CMHC also has a large research wing that analyses the housing situation in Canada and housing design and technologies.The CMHC provides assistance and guidance to the private sector in the building, design and planning of houses. Thus provincial governments have aligned their housing standards and planning practices along those of the CMHC.
The CMHC also makes financial loans to cities at low- and middle-interest rates for the development of housing projects. Thus, both the cities and provinces in Canada rely on the CMHC for the continuation of housing development in the areas under their jurisdiction. This alignment has had a number of influences on Canadian housing in general.
The Minister of Labour (French: Ministre du Travail) is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for setting national labour standards and federal labour dispute mechanisms. Most of the responsibility for labour belongs with the provinces, however the federal government is responsible for labour issues in industries under its jurisdiction.
From 2004 to 2006 the position was styled the Minister of Labour and Housing (French: Ministre du Travail ET du Logement), a name change corresponding with responsibility for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation being transferred to the portfolio at that time. Minister of Labour remains the title for legal purposes.
In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy which is both run for private profit and is not controlled by the state. By contrast, enterprises that are part of the state are part of the public sector; private, non-profit organizations are regarded as part of the voluntary sector.
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