Thank you, Madam Chair.
Ms. Lavoie, Quebec is the only province that has long had permanent programs for the construction of social and community housing. It is well institutionalized. The rules are clear. At home in Mirabel, the community sector is familiar with the system.
In the federal government's previous strategies, there was a real desire to standardize all policies, particularly Canada's National Housing Strategy, which meant that negotiations with Quebec took a long time and that funding was frozen for three years. We always add this second layer of bureaucracy, whereas in Quebec, the system works relatively well. However, it needs funding.
Mr. Ross and Ms. Lavoie, I listened to your response to Mr. Lavoie's question. I found you both very diplomatic. What I gather from your response is that there is potential and the tools are there, but that you fear, to some extent, that what happened in the past might happen again—that there will be instances of duplication, that people will dither, and that projects will be abandoned.
Do you agree that the programs in Quebec are working and need funding, that this is a matter of jurisdiction for the Quebec government in many respects, and that avoiding the creation of duplicate programs and placing greater trust in existing programs in Quebec will allow for the creation of housing more quickly?