Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member brings up a very valid point. It is unfortunate that the department cannot distribute a budget based on spreading it evenly through the regions. Our budget is based on where the need is, based on the traffic volume. Where the major expenses are, of course, is reflective of the traffic volume.

Like I said, the department would have been very willing to work with the communities in trying to spread the dollars around reflective of what we have for that particular region.

I think a good example of that is what the Member brought up yesterday about the access road programs. The department is fully aware of how much people need economic development activity in the region, including highway construction or road construction of any nature. However, we do not base the budget on make-work programs; we base our budget on highway needs and the traffic volumes on those particular stretches of highway. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.