Madam Chair, I appreciate the thoughts from the Member and I think there are several tools that we have at our disposal that do recognize the differences between small and large communities, recognize the differences in capacity. Just even before some of our specific economic development programs, I would say that our support and sponsorship of the traditional economy is exactly trying to attempt to narrow that gap between our larger communities, where there are well-established economies, and our smaller ones where we recognize the economy and the markets aren't established yet. So that is one area that we're trying to promote and think is mostly targeted obviously at the smaller communities.
Another example would be the MOUs that we have and are negotiating; the one with the Gwich'in, the one in the Sahtu region coming up. Those discussions, I think, are going to be around trying to develop economic capacity in those regions and using our procurement process to do that. So that's another tool where we're using government buy-in and trying to focus some of our government buy-in outside of the main centres. Members are all very much aware of negotiated contracts, the attempt to build capacity through negotiated contracts over a period of time so that smaller communities can, in fact, compete.
I'd also point to the BDF programs that we have. Most of the grant money I would say that we have is earmarked for our smaller communities, and I think Members know in the BDF schedule that we referred to level one, two and three communities and I think the bulk of our funding does end up in the smaller communities through BDF. We tend to reserve the loans for the larger communities and the grants to the smallest communities. We recognize banks are not likely going to start to play an active role in our smallest communities. We feel there is a role and is a need there, and that's one that our government can fulfill, that's why we've laid out this BDF. But I absolutely agree with the Member; there are differences between our smaller and larger communities. We have to recognize that. We have to take the tools that we have, correctly apply them and always be looking for new ways to try to bridge that gap. Thank you, Madam Chair.