Thank you.
Thank you for being here today.
I want to speak to you about the money for housing that was announced both in the budget and in the stimulus plan. I would guess it will be managed, in some part, by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
I have spoken to advocates out there, and also looked at my own community, where we applied for two projects and got turned down, and I have found, having talked to people across northern Ontario, that very few, if any, projects have been approved. Then in talking with the advocates, we heard that only a small percentage of the money budgeted actually got out the door, got spent, and was used to build units.
I read and heard in your presentation here today that you believe a lot of that money has gone out the door and that significant projects are up and running. But that's not my experience; it's not the experience of members of Parliament from across northern Ontario, and it's not the experience that has been shared with me by people out there who are watching housing and looking for social housing to be built. They're saying that a very small percentage of that money has actually flowed out.
In the announcements you're making for this year, I'm wondering how much of the new money that's been committed for this year is actually just money you didn't spend last year.