Thank you, Madam Chairperson. Madam Chairperson, this social economic group was established as a direct result of some of the more national program reforms that were being undertaken with a lot of my colleagues, particularly as it related to the provincial/territorial jurisdictions versus the federal jurisdiction, and overlap and duplication of programs. It is recognized there are a lot of consistencies but at the same time there are inconsistencies in programs throughout the country. What is highlighted to us, not even nationally, but within our own programs within this government, I use for example, the seniors' programs we have. There is an inconsistency in some of the ages of eligibility across different departments. There are some which are means tested and other that are not. There were some inconsistencies even in territorial government programs.

This group was tasked with trying to look at these issues across government on a broader perspective instead of departmentally to identify where those inconsistencies were and how some of the social programs interrelated with some of the national programs. Again, in respect of consistencies and inconsistencies to try to move toward better coordination of programs territorially as it related to federal programs on a longer term. Basically, that is where the group's focus is and how to guide some of the future decisions of government as it relates to the broader social economic aspects of government policy. Thank you.