Hon. Andrew Cardozo: Senator Gold, the budget also announced that the federal government will lease federal lands and buildings for the purpose of affordable housing. This has been well received by housing advocates across the country. While this would be leased to the private sector, will the federal government consider building housing itself through CMHC, as it has done in the past?

Senator Gold: Well, the government is doing a number of things to assist, in part through the federal Crown corporation Canada Lands Company, which aims to enable the construction of over 29,000 new homes. The government will use all tools available to convert public lands to housing, including leasing, acquiring other public lands for housing and retaining ownership wherever possible.