I'll take a minute on this, because I think this is pretty important to point out. The United Kingdom went into a program such as this, and we're actually emulating that program. What it basically does is establish a new entity called Canada's National Trust, and its focus will be to protect lands, buildings, and national treasures. Once set up, it will be able to receive donations and contributions to ensure its long-term sustainability. It will be managed and directed by private sector individuals. The best part of it is that it will be at arm's length from the government.
The approach you're speaking of, and the importance of our heritage, isn't something that's been lost on this government. Over the next couple of years, the intent, as you mentioned, is to collate, collect, and have a clear understanding of the inventory of buildings, land, and treasures we have in this country, and we'll be able to address those issues.
I'm going to switch gears a little. Adam, I'll ask you a question or two.
Mr. Richardson touched on the focus and the huge number of dollars the federal government invested in affordable housing across this country. In the 2006 budget, we carried through on an $800 million commitment to provinces and territories to specifically deal with this issue on a short-term basis. In fact, our government's part of the funding was put into a third-party trust so that it was available immediately if the provinces were able to move on it as quickly as we hoped. This isn't an issue, of course, that doesn't come up at every hearing we hold. It's obviously a very important one.
We can talk about more dollars. We can always talk about more dollars. There virtually isn't an organization that doesn't come to pre-budget consultations to ask for more dollars. Very few of them come to say they're getting enough and can actually take a cut. Based on that, and the volume of federal dollars associated with this, should we not perhaps be looking at a better way of delivering the services?
In Victoria yesterday we heard very clearly that the government's involvement in affordable housing, whether it be at the local, provincial, or federal order of government, is ostensibly, in Victoria anyway, done at three dollars to one in terms of what the private sector can deliver on behalf of those who need affordable housing. They can produce it at a much more reasonable rate and therefore can do more with the dollars.
I wanted to get your thoughts on that. What I've sensed in the last two years sitting on the finance committee and talking about and learning about this issue from a federal perspective is that there are a lot of dollars being spent. Do we need to spend more? Perhaps. But certainly one of the important components of this is whether we are spending the money effectively now and whether we should be trying to manage it a little differently.