Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I thought the amendment would kind of speak to the fact that we’re not going to tell communities what to do. I think it still does this, and I’m not really comfortable with it.
Communities have worked very hard, Mr. Chair, to get that autonomy, to self-direct their own interests and put their priorities where they lie. That was the whole focus behind the New Deal. Communities did speak about the lack of capacity and expertise in dealing with their projects, be it building water plants or anything else. It kind of touches on that, but in terms of chipsealing we can’t really force a community to do chipsealing if they’ve got other priorities. That’s what this motion kind of does.
If there was another way of talking to the department to say, “Look; communities need assistance in planning their projects, whatever they may be,” then that would be a more effective use of the department’s resources.