I'm going to appeal to the logic, good common sense, and judgment of Mr. Savage and others. They're saying it's true that this amendment is against the stated purpose of the bill, and we accept that. Mr. Savage says it impinges upon provincial jurisdiction, so he wants to have the opportunity to opt out.
If we use similar logic, is Mr. Lessard prepared to say that the Government of Quebec or any province may choose to be exempted from the application of this act and receive the funds if they choose to opt out? Because that same argument would apply across the provinces of Canada. That makes the exact point that everyone could opt out of the program and call it a national housing strategy, which it obviously couldn't be.