Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My comment is with regard to the mandate of the commission. I feel they might have overextended their mandate, especially in areas such as constituency funding to run our offices and travel to our communities, especially in my riding where I represent three communities. They have cut our O and M budget by about $5,000. 1 think for us to have access to the people we represent and to be able to meet with our constituents as often as we can, we have to have the available resources to do that. I believe there also has to be adequate funds for us to carry out our responsibilities to our constituents.
I have no problems with regard to reviewing the salaries, indemnities, allowances and benefits, but I think that they may have overextended their mandate to encompass reviewing the operations of our offices and how we consult with our constituents. That is the area I have a concern with. We have to keep in mind that we have to have that communication open between ourselves and the communities that we represent.
One of the main election issues in my riding was having access to the Member. We have to keep that in mind when we do this review. We have to make sure there are adequate resources to carry out our responsibilities to the people we represent. Thank you.