Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his speech, which was very apropos.
We know that living conditions in indigenous communities are deplorable and are comparable to third-world living conditions and even worse in some cases. For example, we have been discussing Attawapiskat for a few days.
When I look at the budget, housing is one of the issues that concerns me the most when it comes to the living conditions in indigenous communities.
The budget leaves an impression on everyone because of the big numbers. I think that many people were surprised at the money to be allocated to indigenous peoples over the next five years, starting in the third year in some cases.
I would just like to give this example: $554 million is set aside for on-reserve housing, including $416 million over two years that will flow through Indigenous and Northern Affairs.
If we divide up this money among the 630 indigenous communities across the country, they will each receive about $330,000. It costs about $200,000 to build just one house in my riding in Nunavik because of the cost of materials and transportation in the far north.
What can the communities in Nunavik do with one and a half houses a year for, say, the next 10 years?