Madam Chair, as the indigenous affairs critic for the Bloc Québécois, I do not have the luxury of being able to split the minister across the way into three so I will address him on different topics.
First, I would like to talk about housing. In its budget statement, the government allocated $6 billion over five years to be invested across Quebec and Canada. After the announcement, the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador, or AFNQL, indicated that this was a step in the right direction but that it was not enough to build, repair and maintain housing in indigenous communities.
In 2018, the AFNQL determined that Quebec alone needed $3.9 billion for five years. Not to speak for the first nations, they are saying so themselves, but the Bloc Québécois used the AFNQL projection and determined that a $4.3‑billion investment over five years was needed for Quebec communities alone, including $400 million for Inuit communities.
With inflation and the growing problems resulting from the housing shortage, which we saw in indigenous communities during the COVID‑19 crisis, we can expect that estimate will need to be even higher.
Does the minister agree with me and the AFNQL that $6 billion is not enough to meet the housing needs of first nations in Quebec?