Mr. Speaker, I always enjoy engaging in dialogue with my colleague from Spadina—Fort York.
With regard to dated Liberal concepts of diplomacy, peacekeeping, war and peace, I think that Lester Pearson today would follow quite a different course than in the golden days of Pearsonian diplomacy when the United Nations was a very different organization and when protagonists and antagonists around the world, or warring parties, would eventually come to negotiated and reasonable settlements. We are dealing today with a new phenomenon where martyrdom is cherished over reasonable resolution and peaceful coexistence among differing groups around the world, not just in the Middle East.
With regard to housing, I would like to gently contradict my colleague opposite. During our massive and historic injection of infrastructure funding in 2009, 2010 and 2011, I had the honour and the pleasure of officiating at a number of new housing projects that were opened in downtown Toronto. With regard to York Region, we have been working collaboratively with the municipalities. They agreed that they have been negligent in the past in their city planning and bylaws in not encouraging developers who were building high-rises and condominiums to include by planning or bylaw affordable housing, rental housing, and to change the provisions of bylaws in the 12 communities of York Region which allow private homeowners to open up rental accommodations in their facilities.
There is much to be done. In providing advice following the minister's call for a response on infrastructure spending, I suggested that we should revisit the original CMHC planning, which has sadly gone off the rails in recent years. This is one way to address the housing problem in Canada today.