Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I notified your office earlier, in accordance with Rule 20, I rise today on a point of privilege, to clarify an impression that might have been created from listening to or reading reports in the media, that I am somehow opposing the government initiative on Novel housing because they are trailers.
Mr. Speaker, that could not be further from the truth. The latest report is in today's News/North on page A21, in which I am quoted as saying, "She said many residents do not want to live in trailers." Last week, on CBC North, I was quoted as saying, "My nightmare is that when they come and go, we are going to have 1,400 trailers scattered all over the territory that nobody wants."
Mr. Speaker, if read in the context of all the statements and questions I raised in this House, I believe it's quite clear that my objections are not because these are trailers, but because of the fact the government is proposing to spend $200 million plus in public housing for 1,400 trailer units without asking if anybody wants to live in them or knowing if anybody wants to live in them.
I can tell you that more than Range Lake constituents live in trailers, better known as mobile homes. They are beautiful and they are expensive to buy. The big difference is they have bought them, and rent them, with their own money, because they want them of their own choosing, not because the government made them do it without asking them first.
Mr. Speaker, I hope with this statement I can clarify the misinformation and misinterpretation that might be going on out there, and I wish to advise this House that I intend to release a press statement to further clarify my position on this issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause