I would not want us to leave the Chamber now that we have a quorum, Mr. Chairman. My remarks are very brief. One of the concerns that many people have expressed over the last while is that, because of the downturn in the economy, and due to the fact that the government has had to realign its budget and look very carefully at every dollar, the voluntary agencies have been pressed, more and more, to do things that in the past have been done by government. They have been squeezed more and more. I would like all Members to know that the voluntary agencies have been very involved for a long time in assisting with social programs and services. If we cannot supply the modest capital dollars that these agencies have asked for from time to time, then there is going to have to be a far better organized voluntary sector in order to supplement whatever we can supply.
I will not go into great detail in these general opening remarks, but I would like Members to note that if we did not have a very strong voluntary sector to do fund raising all over the place, the demands on the government purse would be very high. We should be doing as much as we can to make sure that the pressure on the public to keep digging, and digging, to come up with more money to provide essential services is not going to be frustrated because these essential things are no longer going to be available to people.
I know the Minister is very well aware of this. Fund raising throughout the Territories has been quite extensive for many years now, and we want to make sure that people are continuing to do that with the proper generosity of spirit and will not be frustrated because of the initiatives that government takes that could drive that up somewhat, as people get a little bit more anxious about the future of Social Services. I am not doing this just to fill in time and to use up the minutes on the clock, Mr. Chairman, but I would like you to be aware that that is a concern that many Members have. Thank you.