Government Operations committee  Thank you for inviting Canada Lands Company Limited to appear today. In addition to the opportunity to provide opening remarks, we welcome any questions you or members of the committee may have. I would also like to invite all the committee members to visit our websites. My team

Government Operations committee  It is very much a balancing act. Part of the way we resolve that is in the consultation process I spoke about. Because we work within municipal and provincial planning approval requirements, we must accommodate those preferences, but we also want to make sure that our projects ar

Government Operations committee  Before I turn to Bob for the details on that, I would say once again that in respect to how we participate in affordable housing, our plans are approved by the municipalities. We can propose in and work with the municipal planning process in terms of determining what percentage o

Government Operations committee  The policy states that Canada Lands, within our mandate, is able to acquire what are deemed to be strategic properties that are declared surplus by the government. These are properties that are of high interest, complex in terms of the nature of the disposal, or are deemed to be

Government Operations committee  In terms of the number of properties we have, we have about 1,700 acres across the country and 35 projects under way on a national basis.

Government Operations committee  I know I also speak for Bob when I say that we have never experienced any emphasis. We operate at arm's length and the government is not.... It's a business undertaking.

Government Operations committee  Yes.

Government Operations committee  The income statement is correct. The Old Port used to operate under a $24 million-a-year appropriation from the government.

Government Operations committee  I'm sorry, but I don't have in front of me what you have in front of you.

Government Operations committee  Okay.

Government Operations committee  That's not us.

Government Operations committee  In terms of the history of the science centre, I think you'd need to go back to the creation of it, which dates back to 2000, as I recall. It was a decision of the government to create the science centre and invest in it. It's part of the development of the Old Port. Canada Lan

Government Operations committee  We purchase surplus land from the government; we don't purchase new land.

Government Operations committee  You're quite right. To be fully transparent, one of the benefits of being a crown, working within the policies set out by the government, is that we reach an agreement with the federal custodians on the market value of the properties. We sign a promissory note. We make an upfront

Government Operations committee  No, they are not. We are a separate employer.