CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

For the Agency, the year 2006 was a blur of activity with many satisfying developments. As one example, I am very pleased with the way the Agency’s relations with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation have matured over the past year.

The Agency and CMHC are governed by different paradigms, which can make it difficult for the two organizations to understand each other. At the Agency we are committed to a number of new approaches, such as auditors’ on-line filing of co-ops’ annual financial results. We also believe that some old strategies are due for change—universal client visits, for instance. Nonetheless, we recognize that it is imperative for us to make our processes dovetail with those of CMHC, our client.

The Agency started as an idea. As this idea is realized and its different elements arrive in place, I must recognize that we would have got nowhere without the assistance of many contributors and friends, quite a few of whom have staked their futures on our success. The Agency team knowingly signed on for hard labour, and I am honoured that we have managed to enlist so many talented people for this venture.

The Agency is not following a well-marked channel but sailing to faraway shores. Our voyage will be long and we must travel patiently, measuring our progress by our new systems as they come into use. Although we are still in transition, I believe that we will earn the full confidence and respect of both CMHC and the housing co-operatives we serve. Our passage will not be easy or quick, but by continuous effort we will meet their expectations, earn their trust, and ensure that we keep it.