Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in the House today to present a petition by my constituents who believe that the Government of Canada should no longer make rental charges to a community hospital just outside the borders of my constituency, the Queensway Carleton Hospital.
The petitioners believe the Government of Canada should not impose new burdens of rent on an institution that is meant to serve the health needs of nearly 400,000 people, many of whom are seniors. They furthermore believe that if the government can afford to pay almost $10 million in rent for an empty building, it can surely stop charging the hospital.