Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Universities are on the front lines of the current effort. We're going to be there during the period of stabilization, and we want to be there for the recovery. As you know, universities have a reputation for being able to deliver high-quality infrastructure quickly and well. We did it during Mr. Harper's government. We did it in Mr. Trudeau's first term.
The kind of infrastructure that really needs attention can include deferred maintenance. Throughout Atlantic Canada, there are large amounts of deferred maintenance that need to be addressed. It can include digital infrastructure, to make sure that we are robust in terms of robust cybersecurity and being able to deliver online experience. It can include green infrastructure, to make sure that our campuses live up to the expectations of young people today, who expect to live and work in green environments. It can also include accessible infrastructure that lives up to the last Parliament's legislation on the accessibility act, making sure that universities are inclusive places.
That's an important part of the recovery phase, and we stand ready. We have provided to officials $3.8 billion-worth of shovel-ready projects. There is an additional $3.2 billion-worth of projects that are nearly ready, so there's a capacity of about $7 billion distributed right across the country, including in communities large and small. This is where I go back to universities as being anchor employers in communities, with local supply chains and where the benefits of these kinds of investments create quality jobs and better learning environments for our students.