Mr. Speaker, from my perspective, housing is an issue in virtually in every region of the country. I should not even say “virtually”; every region of the country has housing-related issues. Therefore I believe that the federal government does have a very important role to play on the housing file, and it has to be consistent as much as possible in regard to how the funds are being circulated and administered.
Yes, there are some requirements, but I do not think that should be a reason for any province, municipality or community-based group to reject federal funding and criteria that might be put into place. We should all be striving to deliver the optimum results, and the best way to do that is to have different levels of government working together, recognizing that we all have a responsibility to the people we represent.