Canadians worried about mortgage rate hikes

As concerns over the state of the Canadian real estate market abound, a new survey says nearly half of Canadians are unsure about their ability to afford their homes if rates rise by as little as two percentage points.

The survey commissioned by the Bank of Montreal study finds 43 per cent believe an interest hike would either hamper their ability to pay or leave them on unsure footing.

Regionally, residents of Alberta were the least concerned, with 73 per cent saying that rising rates would not affect their ability to afford their homes, while residents of British Columbia were the most concerned. Just 48 per cent B.C. residents are comfortable in their ability to handle higher rates.

The survey results come as banks and economists warn about the rising debt levels of Canadian households.

It also comes as some of Canada's biggest banks have started raising variable mortgage rates, even though the Bank of Canada's overnight interest rate remains unchanged.

Earlier this week, both RBC and TD raised the posted rates on five-year mortgages.

That could signal the end of the era of cheap borrowing that has encouraged many Canadians to take on houses they may not have been able to otherwise afford.

BMO anticipates that the Bank of Canada will begin increasing interest rates from the current one per cent next year.

Many in the mortgage industry have recently advised homeowners to take on the previously less-popular variable mortgage rates as interest rates had remained low since the end of the recession, when the Bank of Canada pushed its overnight rate down to an emergency low 0.25 per cent.

But looking ahead, some industry watchers say now is the time to consider switching to lock in longer term rates with shortened amortization periods.

"Our interest rate outlook now projects that fixed mortgage rates will trump variable. While the decision ultimately depends on the individual, the low rate combined with a shorter 25-year amortization will significantly strengthen household financial stability," said Doug Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets.

In a report issued last week, Porter and colleague Benjamin Reitzes argued that with the U.S. recovery gathering steam, central bankers on both sides of the border are becoming more comfortable with the economy and less so with historically depressed interest rates.

Already, financial markets have priced in a near 50 per cent chance that Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney will start hiking his one per cent policy setting before the year's end, they noted.

Both Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Carney have recently flagged the danger to the economy of Canadians becoming increasingly indebted, mostly through taking advantage of low rates to buy homes or take out home equity loans. Household debt to disposable annual income is above 150 per cent and likely to rise further toward the 160 per cent level that preceded the housing collapse in the U.S., say analysts.

With files from The Canadian Press

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MPs call Flaherty to talk about world economy

MPs on the finance committee have called Finance Minister Jim Flaherty to testify Friday about the state of the world economy.

The MPs met Monday night to decide whether to call witnesses to talk about how Canada should respond as the U.S. and European markets hit turbulence.

They're also inviting Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, though it's not clear whether his schedule will permit him to appear.

Opposition and government MPs debated whether they should call private sector economists.

Shelly Glover, parliamentary secretary to the minister of finance, argued that the only people the committee needs to hear from are Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and a senior official from the Bank of Canada, which sets monetary policy. She said hearing from Flaherty and Carney would reassure Canadians.

"The finance committee must remain a serious forum. And I'm concerned today that the finance committee might go down a path of no return," she said.

Liberal finance critic Scott Brison says the committee needs to give Canadians, including investors, information about the global financial crisis. Brison says they should hear from top economists and department of finance officials about where they see the situation going and what the impact could be on Canada, which has been relatively unaffected.

"The reality is there's a range of potential outcomes of the current turmoil," said Brison.

NDP finance critic Peggy Nash said opposition MPs on the committee want to hear from independent economic experts.

"There are alternatives for Canada in terms of economic policy. And we'd like to hear from some experts about what our government should be doing. Are there other options for our government?" she said.

The federal budget right now is focused more on deficit reduction, Nash said.

"We were critical of that. We thought the jobs issue was one that should have been focused on, and if there is a slowdown with our major trading partners, what will be the impact on the decision the government has taken, do they have flexibility in terms of what they are looking at, and what are independent experts thinking?"

Opposition MPs requested the discussion under a rule that allows four or more MPs on a committee to force a meeting.

Brison and Liberal Deputy Leader Ralph Goodale called for a meeting on the U.S. debt crisis at the end of July. Democrats and Republicans came to a last-minute deal to avert the crisis, but world markets have been in turmoil ever since.

Brison requested a committee meeting for the first week of August, but didn't have enough opposition support to force one until the NDP agreed last week.

The NDP sent a news release Monday morning calling for the meeting, which was scheduled last Friday. It lists their MPs but leaves off Brison. Brison and four NDP MPs co-signed the letter to the committee clerk requesting the meeting.

"I think during difficult times Canadians are relying on us to avoid petty politics," Brison said. "The reality is that we proposed this idea, they opposed it, and now they're saying they invented it."

Nash said that when the Liberals first requested the meeting, no one expected the wild swings in the stock market or that Standard & Poor's would downgrade the U.S. credit rating.

"It takes four MPs to request a meeting and we did that last week. We did request a meeting and because we requested a meeting, we're having a meeting," she said.

"Canadians want to know about government policy, how we can best protect ourselves during government uncertainty and that's what we're focused on. I don't think we're trying to play politics or claim credit … I think all of the opposition is united in that."

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