Thank you, Madam Chairperson. The cost of that is borne by the agency or individuals building the project in question.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. I would like to thank the Member for all the information he is giving us. He knows his communities very well. If this is a priority of their hamlet, they can forward all the information to us and we can assess the problem. Up to now, we have not had an urgency from the hamlet written to us in this regard. I would like to thank the Member for all the information he is giving us. It is very useful to my department. Thank you, Madam Chairperson.

Thank you. Madam Chairperson, I would like to thank the Member for his observation. We have quite a lot of responsibilities as the Members may know now. We have gained a lot more responsibilities than before. I will ask my deputy minister to elaborate more on that, how these functions have affected the department and also the staff because we do have a lot more responsibilities added on to MACA with the small personnel we have. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. Madam Chairperson, when the basic functions were transferred to MACA, that would be a year ago last November that they came over, they did come over with some resources for budgets for salaries and wages for the staff and the positions that were transferred to us, as well as some operations and maintenance dollars that came with the functions. I think it is fair to say that in this area, there is much more that could be done if we had more resources to work with and I think that the staff in this area do work very hard to try to cover off a number of difficult program areas in the communities. It is a challenge, when there is only one assistant fire marshal in each region to try to cover off a whole range of related functions. I think we are fortunate that we do have some very well qualified and dedicated staff who do work very hard to try to meet all the commitments. Could we do more, with more resources? Absolutely. Are we stretched thin? We are stretched thin. Are we meeting the essentials of the mandate that we currently have? Yes, but it certainly is a stretch. The staff are working very hard in this area to cover off the basics. Thank you, Madam Chairperson.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. Madam Chairperson, on the emergency services, the third paragraph talks about public safety, fire safety inspections, enforcement, safety regulations and one area that we have often overlooked, public education program. Not all members of the household in any given home in my area know how to operate a hand operated fire extinguisher. For instance, a unilingual person is not able to read in English and when a fire extinguisher is provided, it is provided with the instruction on that fire extinguisher. Having the knowledge of how to operate a small fire extinguisher that is provided in the public unit or in the private home is very important, especially when that person, knowing how to operate it, has as the ability to extinguish a fire before it becomes a problem. I know many years ago, in my home, local volunteers used to visit homes. I do not see that anymore. Is the fire marshal's office providing a regular update training for people who are living in homes, having the ability to operate a fire extinguisher. It may be simple, but there are cases whereby individuals in the household are not able to operate a fire extinguisher. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. That is a very good suggestion. I am also aware that unilingual members in our communities do not know how to operate these fire extinguishers and maybe not only those individuals, but other people in the communities. I will have the fire marshal assess this and see what we can do to educate the public in that area. Thank you, Madam Chairperson.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. Again, with emergency services, can the Minister maybe advise us if the Disaster Assistance Program has funds there or requirements for financial assistance. How is that obtained in the event of disasters?

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. I will refer that question to my deputy minister.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. I do not have the actual policy here with me, but I can indicate that there is a disaster assistance policy in place and it is intended to provide financial assistance to help residents or small businesses or community governments recover from the effects of a disaster. The assistance does not cover full compensation for damages or losses and it does not replace coverage that might be available through insurance or other programs. Generally, what happens if there is a disaster, is that the Minister would strike a disaster assistance committee to review the situation and to bring back a recommendation for disaster assistance in accordance with the policy. The Minister would then forward that recommendation to Cabinet for review and approval. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. Could the Minister advise if there is a fund set up for this purpose or is it on as required basis? Is it handled through special warrants? Thank you, Madam Chairperson.