Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First of all, I do appreciate the Member's kind words. The fundamental changes that we made to this department -- and, frankly, that's why I took the time to explain them -- are significant, and I'm pleased that we took the lead on this, ED&T. The proof, if you want, of whether we were successful or not is really going to be up to the regions and the regional superintendents who are now part of our senior management team. They now have the fiscal authority -- and I've said this a number of times in the House -- for large chunks of money which, historically, lay in the hands of headquarters. They now develop the policy of the department through consultation with the communities which historically was developed by headquarters. They, in fact, as Mr. Koe alluded to about the EDA, have approval up to $200,000 although the cheques still come out of Yellowknife and maybe that's a problem we have to look at.

So I'm really, not smug, but pleased about the fact that we've been able to make these changes, and while it's not perfect, I think it's gone a long way to making it a little better. I think the comment about the development of small business and the $500,000 grant system has had a bit of an impact on a lot of people. Certainly, with respect to the efforts we are making with arts and crafts and the fact that we now have not only some of the cooperatives who have been involved for a long time, we now have the new Northwest Company which is a very aggressive company right now across the whole network; they are very active with us, in partnership, in trying to develop the arts and crafts field.

While we've a long way to go on some issues, we need to ensure that we get a faster turnaround with cheques. I think that's an argument we've had for years, whether we've been members of the House or the private sector. I think we're not quite there yet but we're getting there. With this House's indulgence and patience, I think in the next six or seven months we will reinforce what we've put into place. I'm optimistic that we'll be able to streamline things much more effectively. We'll be able to turn around the grants and the cheques more expeditiously. We've got policies now that will help the small business person that simply weren't there before, and I think, from what I've seen so far, we also streamlined the paper where there is far less bureaucratic red tape to get the kinds of monies that people are requesting. As I've said, we're not perfect by any means but we've come a long way in a short period of time, and if you'll bear with us for the next six or seven months, I'm optimistic you'll see even more change that reflects the advice that each and every one of you gave us. Thank you.