Minister, right now, who's holding things up?
You say you're negotiating, but housing falls under provincial jurisdiction. So housing construction is Quebec's responsibility, and it's up to Quebec to arrive at an agreement with its cities. If Ottawa were to hand over the $900 million cheque right now, Quebec would be in a position to build housing over the next year.
Why are you getting in the way of the Quebec government? Quebec is used to doing this work. Cities are used to doing this work. Technical resource groups are used to doing this work. Non-profit housing organizations are used to doing this work.
Ottawa's fiscal capacity is enormous. This $900 million is sleeping in the coffers, while people in Quebec are sleeping outside, even as winter approaches.
That $900 million is sitting in Ottawa, useless. Why?