Madam Chairman, I expect the minister is wondering if anyone is watching. I imagine there are some people watching although I do not know how many in Nova Scotia where it is past 11.30 p.m. Perhaps there are some who cannot sleep and are watching these interesting and worthwhile proceedings.
It is important to know that this is a new process. When have we ever seen this before? When has a government had ministers come before the House for five hours at a time and answer all manner of questions and have their departments held to account? That is transparency. It is an important new development brought about by the government and we as members of parliament should be pleased and proud of the fact that this has happened during this parliament .
One of the things I want to talk about is the role of the Department of Public Works and Government Services as a landlord. I served on the Prime Minister's task force on urban issues which reported its interim report recently. One of the issues we looked at regarding urban areas was the question of how the Government of Canada could work better and more effectively in urban areas. We asked what it could do to ensure that it was doing the most it could to help urban areas be competitive and help them develop in a sustainable way.
One of the ways in which the Government of Canada interacts with those large urban areas in the country is as a landlord. In Halifax, for example, the Government of Canada owns a number of buildings. It has CFB Halifax and other military bases around metro. It has a national park right in the middle of Halifax, the Halifax Citadel. There are a number of ways in which it interacts. It is a responsible landlord in my city as in many cities across the country.
There is the issue of grants in lieu of taxes which at times has been a concern for the city of Halifax. HRM, now Halifax regional municipality, has concerns about whether or not it is getting the amount of money it should. It is important that we deal with that in a responsible manner.
There are also issues relating to transit and traffic and where buildings and offices are located. I was told by Rear-Admiral Maclean that when there are snow storms the hours of people's arrival are sometimes adjusted to ease traffic problems. It is important to consider those factors because that was what we considered in our task force. Issues relating to air quality are important concerns.
There is also an issue relating to Dartmouth. There are plans in Dartmouth to move offices downtown to a new building. Could the minister tell us anymore about this aspect of the work of his department?