Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, from a broad perspective, I think the draft agenda gives us a progressive and a positive place to start putting things together.

I have a brief statement or a message or comment on the approach. It is one I made before, but I think it is one worth repeating, and that is when people find themselves in trouble, the causes tend to be an accumulation of things. There are usually not individuals or families that simply have a problem with the courts or a problem with income support or a singular problem with education, or a singular problem with health. There is usually a basket. There is usually a collection of these things that have combined or gathered up over the course of time that drag people down, present so many barriers for them to get back up on their feet.

Within our system, we have so many different ways that government can help people. It provides so many opportunities for people to help themselves. Within the system itself, there are systemic problems. One illustration is this marvellous technical invention called voice-mail that when people do need help and they are seeking advice or guidance, there are so many different little pockets of resources within our system. We have set up a lot of what we tend to call stovepipes from one department to another department to another department.

As I have said, when people do get into a serious lifestyle problem, there is usually a range of things they need to get addressed and our system compels them to go from one place to another place to another place.

I was disappointed, along with just about everyone else in the Assembly, that the harmonization plan did not hit the streets on April 1st of this year when it was originally intended to. We had some implementation problems, I believe, and we are still trying to sort those out. However, I still remain optimistic that we are going to see some good, forward steps towards some harmonization as a beginning of flattening our system out, making it more accessible, more practical, more responsive.

We look at designing and implementing and delivering these services from the point of view of people and kids, and single moms, people with addiction problems and this kind of thing. If we try and look at how we can do a better job from their point of view, it might help to make a difference.

It is going to take a bit to shift some attitudes here in the Assembly, and I think in our own public service, there are a lot of people there who are doing the very best they can, but I think there is something in it, in a tone and a...

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