Mr. Speaker, on May 17, 2007, I questioned the then minister of national defence in the House on the status of the vacant houses on the decommissioned Kapyong Barracks in my riding of Winnipeg South Centre.
The minister did not have the answers then, and we still do not have any. The Treasury Board process for the transfer of the houses to the Canada Lands Company is apparently stalled. Department regulations are in place that allow only members of the military or the RCMP, governmental employees, or the families of governmental employees to live in these houses.
It costs taxpayers $250,000 to maintain these empty houses. Many Winnipeggers live in either substandard or overpriced housing, and 1,500 people in Winnipeg are homeless. The rental vacancy rate is 1.3%.
We talk about prudent government spending. How can the Conservative government justify billing the taxpayer for keeping these houses empty when there is a real community need?
The government should make these houses available to the community and at the same time move forward with the transfer of the land and houses to the Canada Lands Company.