Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs. It is in regard to my Member's statement on the new initiative this government is putting in place for community government funding. The concern I have, Mr. Speaker, is that there seems to be some items not realized in regard to how they are calculating these funds, especially the high cost of delivery programs and services in our communities. Also, the cost of acquiring services from outside the communities and also forced growth, the high cost of fuel and the high cost of operating equipment and services in our communities.
With regard to how these things were calculated, I would like to ask the Minister how is it that they have come up with a formula without realizing that there are other extra costs that will be associated with delivering these programs in communities?
I would like to ask the Minister, have they allowed for the ability of communities to be able to have the resources to find areas where there are unforeseen costs, the high cost of operating and maintaining facilities such as the water treatment plants, for instance, and the maintenance of our road systems in our communities, the cost of gravel? Have you built in those costs to ensure that they will be able to cover all those services?