Mr. Chairman, the Department of Public Works has ascertained that it is cheaper to provide the furniture to these housing units than it is to bring peoples furniture in and out. The Standing Committee on Finance asked for an example and I have the example. I believe it is being delivered to the committee. We chose the example of off-highway Baffin Island, the average length of stay is 2.5 years, the average excludes employees not entitled to relocation or local hires. The figure I am going to give you is in 1992 dollars. It is furnished accommodation over ten years. The cost of furnishing the unit, $12,844, the cost of removal of personal effects, $26,474, for a total of $39,318. As a note the furniture is shipped by sea lift and I believe the cost of that, Mr. Chairman, is 14 cents a pound. The cost of removal is based on the actual average cost, $3,782, $1.23 per pound by air multiplied by seven. Over the ten year period there would be four incoming moves and three outgoing, assuming the unit is allocated at all times.
Mr. Chairman, I will provide this in written form. If you look at unfurnished accommodation the weight entitlement for removal into unfurnished accommodation is 15,000 pounds. The average weight per move to a three bedroom unit is approximately 9,000. The cost of removal would be $130,123 and the cost of removal at $18,589 is based on the weight of the average move at air cargo rates of $1.23 per pound multiplying this by seven moves results in a conservative estimate of $130,000 over the ten year period. The department is estimating that for one housing unit it would cost $9,000 per year or $90,000 over the ten years if the housing were unfurnished, off the highway system. As I have said, Mr. Chairman, I will provide more details to the committee. Thank you.