Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I have said a number of times in the Legislature, this government has been in office a little over two months. We have needed to give direction on the interim appropriation that we require for government to continue operating after April 1st. The direction, as I know it, was to have an interim appropriation bill in front of this Legislature that would comprise four months of expenditures based roughly on what was required last year in the first four months of the fiscal year.
That included forced growth, and that is what we require. It has not been largely finessed, but it will be, as Members have been told. I am not sure that it is clear yet, but there will be ongoing changes in the year. We will prepare the budget and present it to the Members in June. It will contain measures that the Members have indicated in this interim appropriation. It will address such issues as how can we live within our existing means and make sure the priority issues are addressed. It will ensure that small community needs are respected and, if possible, reductions should not be made at the expense of communities and regions. Those are all things that we have no difficulty with at all.
It is simply that we have not had time to engage in detailed planning, as Members are aware. I hope they appreciate that we are trying to be as inclusive as possible in the overall planning. That is what this government is engaged in, as we get off to what I hope is a very productive start in the four year mandate. Thank you.