Mr. Chairman, I would like to again ask Mr. Anderson to respond to that question. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Can the Minister tell me what the department spends on travel every year?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, one thing I find to be a waste of time and money is, it seems like whenever we have a new Minister, we have to do the tours of every community. I think it is a waste. We know what the problems are. There is a report out regarding the housing needs study. I think we should start implementing some of those recommendations instead of spending $500,000 on travel. I think we could build a few houses with that kind of money.

I would like to know why we have not implemented some of those recommendations regarding the housing needs study instead of having to waste that amount of money in travel.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There is a big philosophy regarding that question. I will try to answer it as best I can.

One of the things we are finding is that the committee has long said they did not have enough ministerial visits to look first hand at some of the housing problems. We are trying to address that very quickly. Secondly, I think that it is important to visit communities, especially when we are starting to deal with communities on the lease-back option.

In the context of what the sessional statement says, government to government, we want to involve all community governments in participating with us to address housing needs. That is the basic philosophy behind our visits.

The other thing that is important to understand here is that good, healthy, community lifestyles are based on good housing, because housing is really the cornerstone for healthy living. That is the reason for our visits, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I for one believe that we should start practicing restraint and start trying to find monies to implement recommendations that have come forward through the different reviews that have happened over the years especially in regard to housing needs in our communities.

I feel we know what the problems are. I think that unless we are going to go into the community and deliver a capital project and make a public announcement, then I cannot see us going into the communities. When we are going into the communities with nothing to offer and we do not have the resources to build new homes or have the capital budgets to do what we would like to do, I think we are just building up people's hopes.

And we are not going to deliver. We know what the problems are, but financially this government is not sound. We cannot deliver what we would like to deliver.

With that, I would just like to mention that I think we have to start taking advantage of whatever little dollars we have. If it is $500,000 and we could build a few more units, then we should do it.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, with all due respect, I believe it is a wise comment. We have heard that throughout the week. The important thing here is that we are going to the communities with the intent of developing more homeownership. I still believe the needs survey will determine the housing needs of each community.

The important thing here is that we involve the community governments to come forth with the knowledge that we are delivering homeownership. I still believe that if we do things according to our strategic plan, we will be able to meet all of the thresholds within four years. That is the intent of our visits. To convince the community government that is the proper way to go.

I feel that if we can revise many of the existing programs and put more dollars into economic housing, than we can meet those objectives. I believe the president would like to add to this comment, Mr. Chairman, if he can. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am not aware of the specific details, but I will ask our president to respond to the question. Thank you.