Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to respond further to the question raised by my colleague regarding the important negotiations between the federal government and the provinces concerning housing.
The federal government has offered to the provinces and territories the opportunity to take over the management of the existing federal social housing resources, with the exception of housing on Indian reserves, provided federal subsidies continue to be used for housing and are targeted to low income households.
These negotiations are aimed at simplifying the administration of social housing by eliminating overlap and duplication and providing clients with one stop shopping.
Let me assure my colleague that national principles and a rigorous accountability framework will govern the agreement and provinces will have to agree and respect those agreements. Once new social housing agreements are in place, any future cost savings that may be realized will be used for social housing purposes, either to assist in the management and/or renovation of the older existing social housing portfolio or to create new social housing programs.
The federal government is not withdrawing the financial support it provides to low income Canadians with housing needs. We will continue to meet our financial obligations related to the existing social housing portfolio currently at about $1.9 billion a year.
With regard to the protection of existing rights of people living in co-operative housing, let me further assure my colleague that since individual sponsors own and operate most of the federally assisted non-profit and co-operative housing, CMHC agreements with individual co-operatives will continue to be legally binding. I can assure my hon. colleague of that.