I would ask the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage to not encourage me to knock over my water, because unlike his government, I never thought the dollar should be allowed to float.
So, 18.7% of federal spending on housing is in Quebec, which means that 81.3% is outside Quebec. In Quebec, 29.3% of households are living in poverty.
I would ask the minister whether he is prepared today—I would even give him some of my time if he would—to instruct the federal government's chief negotiator for housing to inform the Government of Quebec, Lucien Bouchard and Louise Harel, who is responsible for housing in the National Assembly, that he is transferring 29.3% of the funds to the Government of Quebec. It is the only one entitled to have a national policy on housing.
I think the government will agree that it is perfectly logical for the Government of Quebec to intervene in the housing sector. This sector is connected with the Civil Code, municipalities and land management. There is no reason why the federal government should intervene in this area.
In actual fact, the CMHC directly subsidizes and oversees 44,597 housing units in Quebec. The federal government's offer—and I am sure the minister responsible for the CMHC was not really himself when he made the offer—is $218 million.
However, the federal government is proposing less than what the Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation spends in Quebec. Indeed, the total amount spent by the CMHC in Quebec is $289 million.
I am convinced that the Quebec government would be prepared to come to an agreement with the federal government. The minister will agree that the current Quebec government is among the best and most reasonable ones we ever had. If the federal government offered $480 million, I am convinced the Quebec government would accept that amount.
I will repeat that for my colleague: $480 million, because this is the amount that Quebec is entitled to in the housing sector.
I am counting on the hon. member for Bourassa to get involved in this issue. This will be in Canadian dollars. I appreciate the member's optimism regarding a possible free trade zone using U.S. dollars. The hon. member is more or less acknowledging that a sovereign Quebec will be able to hold its own at the international level.
I will conclude, since oral question period is about to begin, by repeating that we cannot support this bill. We endorse the mandate of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to be more active on export markets. However, we think there is a possibility the federal government will get directly involved by negotiating with intermediate bodies, and this is not in Quebec's best interests with regard to the housing sector.
I am asking the minister to begin negotiations to ensure that Quebec gets its fair share. This will be an opportunity for the minister to properly serve Quebec society.