Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative in the Senate, and it’s on affordable housing, which is a major concern in Canada.

Senator Gold, there is an interesting passage on page 22 of Budget 2021 that recently caught my attention. The government says it will support the conversion to affordable housing of the empty office space that has appeared in our downtowns by reallocation of $300 million. In light of this announcement and considering the fact that workplace environments are changing, is the government considering converting some of its own real estate into affordable housing or perhaps not renewing leases to allow for those spaces to be converted? I appreciate this is a huge undertaking, but I feel there might be an opportunity here to reduce government operating expenses while addressing affordable housing at the same time.

And let me conclude that the government manages one the largest and most diverse real estate portfolios in Canada. The total property asset value is $7.5 billion, with approximately 88% of the properties used for office accommodations. Minister Duclos did tell our committee last fall that even before the pandemic, the government was already re-evaluating its real estate portfolio.

Are you aware of such a re-evaluation? Is it a consideration for the government? Thank you.

I want to follow up on that, Senator Gold. I think it’s extremely important. We are looking at more virtual work, and I would like you to undertake a commitment to report back to this chamber in a timely manner as to the status of this re-evaluation. Are you aware at all that such a re-evaluation is occurring? Have you heard that this is taking place at this point in time?

Thank you.