Mr. Speaker, co-operative housing empowers Canadians to build active, participatory communities. The federal government has traditionally played a central role in promoting co-op housing and its very integral function in Canadian society.
The recent decision by the Ontario government to off-load responsibilities over co-op housing to municipalities further threatens its viability. I commend the minister responsible for CMHC for looking into the implications of this move by the Harris government. I urge her to take this opportunity to reconsider the transfer of federal responsibilities over co-op housing to provincial governments.
The Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada has put forth a proposal to create a non-profit entity which would assume the administration of the federally funded co-op housing portfolio.
We should seriously consider this proposal. We have the responsibility to ensure that co-op housing remains the viable empowering vehicle it is today.
Let us use this opportunity to make sure that there is a secure co-op housing sector for future generations.