Transport committee  Thank you for your question and for your comments earlier. The federal government has established with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities a $50-million asset management program that was launched in May. Now municipalities have access to direct funding to help them develop

Transport committee  Yes.

Transport committee  Yes.

Transport committee  The projects that would be inclusive of the main conduits would be eligible for funding under our programs. Where we draw the line between public and private infrastructure is for the lines that go directly into the homes. That's where those loan replacement programs are extremel

Transport committee  I think that would be part of the study, if the committee chooses to go forward with the study, to determine where the proper sources of funding would be.

Transport committee  I do not have the yearly numbers, but—

Transport committee  As my colleague said earlier, from 2002 to date, we have funded more than 6,000 projects across the country, amounting to $3.5 billion. Just recently, we got the figures for drinking water programs, which were funded in phase 1 of our new plan. We have funded 805 projects in the

Transport committee  No, they are not. In fact, there are a variety of projects. We may fund the installation of pipes as well as the entire construction of a water treatment plant.

Transport committee  It can range from hundreds of thousands of dollars to millions of dollars.

Transport committee  I'll have to check that, but the cost of water treatment plant projects is typically between $5 million and $25 million.

Transport committee  Yes, there is funding. Municipalities and provinces are still being asked to prioritize their projects. Funding is available, but it is clear that there is an environmental quality component to fund this type of project.

Transport committee  On our side, I think these programs are very good and can have a big impact, as Mr. Bratina said. However, public infrastructure falls under the federal mandate. That would go beyond our mandate.

Transport committee  On the federal side, we can fund a number of projects. We tend to fund public infrastructure projects to produce safe drinking water and build drinking water pipes. As far as we are concerned, the issue is more with the pipes that go to the houses, which are considered private p