I agree with the Minister that some responsibility has to lie with the client. On the other hand, we have economic development officers who are there to assist. I

would hope these individuals would have the knowledge, when they are utilizing these applications, of what the requirements are in order for the application to go through the system smoothly. The Minister is aware of these problems within his department.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to turn to another area, short-term employment programs. If the Minister recalls, I think it was last year we passed a motion with regard to the level of funding for this particular program. With the UIC requirements today, the length of time which is required to get on to UIC, we suggested that the Minister take a serious look at reviewing the length of the program. For instance, if community "A" puts in an application for "X" number of people to work on a program, we have asked the Minister if he can stretch it out to whatever the UIC requirement is, so that after that project is over they will be eligible to qualify for UIC benefits. I am not sure as to what the Minister has done in this area. If I recall correctly, Mr. Chairman, we also asked the Minister to increase the level of funding. I do not believe that this is in the budget.