Mr. Speaker, like every other part of the government, we looked at the areas where there could be some basic cuts without harming the operation of various boards and agencies.

On the regional councils, there was a 10 percent cut, except for Baffin, who received a higher decrease. What we made sure of, was that each regional organization could operate, could have the meetings they require, and some support. There is no plan to take away how they operate and under what mandate they operate. All the cuts were done, basically, for fiscal restraint and each region was given enough money to have the same number of meetings and support staff to keep them going. Thank you.