Sofia Ouslis

Discussions with federal officials on innovation, AI and technology-related topics relevant to government operations and AI adoption. This also includes updating procurement policies to better support government services.

Discussing the need for increased investments in Indigenous led environmental conservation and northern scientific research initiatives. Discussing federal skills training and apprenticeship support programming and the steps that can be taken to better enable training opportunities in Inuit and northern communities. Meeting with public office holders to raise awareness and seek input on the Arctic Research Foundation's Arctic National Strategy. Seeking funding to support ARF vessel procurement, operational costs, and subsidized vessel time for research organizations and Indigenous communities. Meeting with public office holders to raise awareness of the Arctic Research Foundation and its work to advance the scientific research, environmental conservation, and infrastructure development priorities of Inuit and Northern communities.

Implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Innovation Fund Expand funding for community efforts to address homelessness through Reaching Home and make changes to the National Housing Strategy, Reaching Home, and federal housing policy to support ending homelessness and the implementation of the right to housing in Canada. Seeking to secure federal government investment in affordable and supportive housing for Canadians experiencing or at risk of homelessness and expand housing options for people at risk of or experiencing homelessness through Build Canada Homes. Policies and investments in support of ending homelessness in Budget 2026 Taxation relating to Canadian charities Seeking program and policy changes from Women and Gender Equity to address housing need and homelessness for women. Seeking program and policy changes from Veterans Affairs Canada and Housing Infrastructure and Communities Canada to support federal action on ending homelessness for veterans. Seeking funding support for National Conference on Ending Homelessness, funding to support work to prevent and reduce homelessness as well as funding for research on homelessness and housing need in Canada, through Reaching Home (HICC); Veterans Affairs Canada; Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation; and Women & Gender Equality, to support research on homelessness for women and advancing the right to housing. Encouraging the implementation of housing policies in alignment with the human right to housing and National Housing Strategy Act

Providing feedback and recommendations to Bill C-56, An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Competition Act, as it relates to property owners, landlords and tenants. Engaging with government on policy related to housing, housing affordability, rental markets, and rental availability including economic impacts, tax policy and infrastructure.

HEALTH DATA INTEROPERBILITY: Provide CMA’s perspective as it relates to health data interoperability that would ensure providers have access to the right information at the right time when providing care, and improve patient outcomes and their health care experience. BUDGET: Provide CMA’s perspective on the Government of Canada’s budget, particularly as it relates to modernizing Canada’s health care system by enhancing efficiency, driving innovation, and promoting equitable access to care. HARMFUL ONLINE CONTENT: Advocate to address the escalation of online harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence targeting physicians, other health workers, and anyone seeking health care treatment, including measures to strengthen the Criminal Code of Canada and the Canadian Human Rights Act. TECHNOLOGY AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: provide CMA’s perspective on the impact of technology and artificial intelligence on the health care sector and the means through which advancements can be foreseen and managed. HEALTH PROMOTION AND DISEASE PREVENTION: Increased investments in health and social-determinants-of-health related programs, including measures to address the opioid crisis, mental health and addictions, and the regulation of natural health products. ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN: Advocate for measures to alleviate the administrative burden on physicians and support their professional wellbeing, including investment to facilitate the development of EHRs and EMRs in Canada, improved remuneration for the completion of federal health forms, the development of a Federal Disability Benefit, ensuring that physicians are not captured in the definition of "promoters" in the Disability Tax Credit Promoters Restrictions Regulations, providing clarity and guidance on federal forms, and advocacy on discontinuing the requirement that employees present sick notes to their employers. The CMA is advocating that the trade of medical goods and medications be protected to avoid disruptions to patient care. Specifically, that the government: Continue to ensure pharmaceutical products and medical devices are not included in any countermeasures on tariffs. Improve safeguards for Canadian health data. Improve labour mobility so physicians can work across the country. Make it easier for qualified physicians to immigrate and work in Canada, including by fast-tracking immigration steps for US physicians. PAN CANADIAN LICENSURE: Advocate for the ability for physicians with full licences to practise independently without restrictions or for medical resident trainees registered in any Canadian jurisdiction to practise or train in any other Canadian jurisdiction without having to acquire more than one licence or pay additional licensing fees. This includes exploring enabling legislation in the provinces and territories. INTEGRATED HEALTH HUMAN RESOURCES Advocate for an Integrated Health Human Resources Strategy, including creating retention incentives and addressing administrative burden for health care professionals, increasing the number of doctors and nurses and ensuring that every Canadian has access to a family doctor or primary health team, increasing access to virtual care, creating an action plan to get internationally trained health care professionals to work, improving workforce data collection across health systems and investing in a supply needs-based planning tool, and facilitating team-based health care. MEDICAL MIS/DISINFORMATION: Provide CMA’s perspective on the impacts of medical misinformation and disinformation, including on public trust in science, medicine, and public health experts. INDIGENOUS HEALTH: Improvement to the health and health care services provided to Indigenous peoples in Canada including adding inclusive lettering on health cards across Canada. Advocating for the creation of a national Chief Health Accountability Officer. PUBLIC-PRIVATE HEALTHCARE: The CMA is conducting a series of in-person sessions across the country to engage key s

Lobbying for the preservation of affordable rental housing Lobbying for the development of new affordable housing, including co-operative housing. Lobbying to ensure that low-income households can continue to live affordably in federally-administered housing co-operatives after their operating agreements end with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Lobbying for renewed low-income subsidies for federal indigenous co-operatives. Lobbying for new low-income subsidies for federal co-ops (including Section 95 program co-op housing). Lobbying for government to examine the consequences of the steady erosion of rent-geared-to-income (RGI) capacity for low-income households in existing federally administered housing providers, including co-operatives. Lobbying for energy retrofit programs for co-op housing. Lobbying around the elimination of homelessness in Canada.

Advancing recommendations in support of Bill S-5, the Connected Care for Canadians Act. Providing input to the Government of Canada’s Sovereign Artificial Intelligence and Compute Infrastructure Strategy. Execution of the multi-year funding agreement between the Government of Canada and the Digital Research Alliance of Canada.

Providing feedback and recommendations to Bill C-56: An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Competition Act as it relates to property owners, landlords and tenants. Engaging with government on policy related to housing, housing affordability, rental markets, and rental availability including economic impacts, tax policy and infrastructure.

The role of Build Canada Homes (BCH) in addressing Canada’s housing needs, while ensuring the federal government continues to advance policies for the entire housing continuum. We strongly support that BCH must deliver deeply affordable, non-market housing for the most vulnerable in our society. Addressing homelessness and ensuring low-income Canadians have safe, secure housing is essential to building a fair and inclusive Canada, and REALTORS® are committed to helping make this a success. However, solving the housing crisis requires addressing the full continuum of needs. That means ensuring Build Canada Homes must demonstrate that federal investments can unlock attainable, market-based housing for middle-class families who are increasingly shut out of ownership. Partner with provinces, territories and municipalities on a National Housing Strategy that prioritizes housing choice across the full continuum, from ending homelessness to rebuilding the pathway to homeownership for generations of Canadians. Identify clearly defined, outcome-driven mandates for both Build Canada Homes (BCH) and the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Commit to the preservation and restoration of an attainable pathway to homeownership for middle-class Canadians, including an increased national focus on helping create more missing middle supply across the country. Introduce targeted measures to support seniors in transitioning to appropriately sized housing within their existing communities— by enabling aging in place, facilitating home-sharing or rental of secondary suites, supporting downsizing, or allowing property severance to create additional housing units—thereby unlocking family-sized homes and generating retirement income while addressing the housing needs of younger Canadian families. The federal government should help scale and catalyze the modern methods of construction, such as the prefabricated housing industry to leverage and strengthen this emerging industry for the benefit of all Canadians and the entire housing system. It is recommended that building code harmonization—to improve affordability and innovation—be paired with a further requirement of the CSA A277 standard to be adopted by provinces and territories to ensure compliance, facilitate faster approval and processes, and create consistency across the country. To urge the federal government to continue pressuring provinces and municipalities to reduce development taxes, and to collaborate with them to identify, mandate, and implement alternative funding mechanisms in place of development taxes. Amendments and modernization of the GST/HST new housing rebate. Fully remove the GST/HST on newly built homes for first-time home buyers. If that does not help to stimulate new housing starts, the federal government should consider extending the GST/HST Rebate to all owner-occupiers who purchase a newly built primary residence (i.e. seniors looking to downsize) and sell their existing home to another owner-occupier. Ensure Build Canada Homes represents a transformative change to grow and support a healthier housing system in Canada, that serves the needs of our entire population. It is essential to approach the solutions to the housing crisis from a systems lens – from supporting young Canadians that hope to own their own home one day to building diversified non-market housing and investing in the policy solutions needed to end homelessness. Increasing the capital gains inclusion rate Updating and developing Canada's Immigration policy to include a housing workforce immigration strategy to attract skilled trade workers from abroad, while streamlining the immigration process for qualified professionals willing to work in the construction industry to build more housing supply across the entire continuum. The Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing (PCMLTFA) with respect to a threshold for and reduced compliance for small business. The Proceeds of Crime (Money La