Two reports from the Globe and Mail in Canada. "In a letter to the House of Commons finance committee, Evan Siddall, chief executive of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., offered an aggressive defence of the controversial mortgage qualification standard, saying it is needed to forestall potentially devastating economic consequences if house prices and debt levels rise even further."

"He said the consequences of Canada’s 'debt-fuelled real estate boom' are serious and collapses of asset bubbles have historically created panic. He drew comparisons to the tulip bulb crisis in the Netherlands in the 17th century, the stock-market bubble of the 1920s and the collapse of the real estate bubble in the United States in 2009."

"'Just 10 years after such a crash, we have fallen into the ‘this time is different’ trap of complacency,' he warned. 'We have a responsibility to prevent these tragedies. And while I’m not predicting, it nonetheless could happen here: Of the 46 banking crises for which we have housing data, over two-thirds were preceded by real estate boom and bust cycles.'"

"He accused real estate industry groups such as Mortgage Professionals Canada (MPC) of proposing changes to the stress test that would drive up home prices in major cities while stimulating more borrowing by Canadians who are already deeply indebted."

"'Apparently the MPC is content to see home builders, real estate agents and mortgage brokers receive short-term benefits while Canadians bear the long-term costs,' Mr. Siddall said. 'My job is to advise you against this reckless myopia and protect our economy from potentially tragic consequences.'"

"Evan Siddall, the guy who backstops $448-billion in mortgages for Canadian homeowners, is calling out the big banks for what he calls irresponsible behaviour that’s fuelling a highly leveraged residential real estate market."

"He turned his guns on the banks, which drum up mortgages and backstop their higher-risk loans at the CMHC. Looking back at recent bank publications, Mr. Siddall said: 'In an astonishing piece of work, economists at TD Bank argued that the stress test should be removed so that house prices can increase by $32,000. CIBC’s economist has also called for a re-assessment of the stress test.'"

"'Since a federal government guarantee stands behind lenders’ insured mortgages, these appear to be cases of evident moral hazard. I doubt they’d be as cavalier if it were their risk,' he said."

From CTV News Vancouver. "Homeowners gathered outside of Vancouver-Point Grey MLA David Eby's office on to protest NDP policies and taxes. Many blame the government's efforts of putting downward pressure on the housing market for causing the value of their homes to plunge."

"'There's divisiveness here: it is assets versus no assets. Well, excuse me, we worked -- we did. We saved,' said protester Tom Michaildies."

"The protest was staged by a group called 'STEPUP Now,' which commissioned a new analysis that found Metro Vancouver properties have lost nearly $90 billion over the past year. The data was compiled by Paul Sullivan, a senior partner at Burgess, Cawley, Sullivan and Associates Ltd., who specializes in commercial real estate and property tax appraisal."

"West Vancouver and Vancouver saw the biggest dips of market value at 14.68 per cent and 13 per cent respectively. 'I think this is now the beginning of something that's very scary, a government that's not really looking out for me at all and a lot of British Columbians,' said protester Garth Edgar."

"Protester Michaildies directed a simple message towards Eby. 'You do not represent me. You represent anybody that doesn't own anything,' he said."

"Biology student Evan MacKay, 20, said he feels the province is looking out for him with its policies. 'I think overall, it is going to help people,' he said. 'I want to own a house here one day, so it would be nice to actually be able to.'"