Mr. Chair, it would be good if the Minister could keep the Members on this side of the House and the committees informed in regard to how those expenditures are being made and who’s getting on the list and who isn’t. I think it’s important. Climate change affects people differently, especially where we have communities dealing with permafrost, shoreline erosion and the importance of gravel in those areas where we don’t have gravel.

I’d like to ask: has the department looked at what other initiatives are being contemplated? You talked about climate change, and you talked about different types of infrastructure and water treatment plants. Again, I think it’s important that we also ensure that we do have the flexibility and allowance for small community projects to be able to meet this list, knowing that a lot of them don’t have the capacity or don’t have the people on the ground to deal with this. There is going to be a need for dollars to be fronted to those organizations so that they can get the expertise that they’re going to need to compile a report or an assessment or a study.

I’d like to ask the Minister: what kinds of assurances can small communities get so that there will be resources for them to do the legwork that’s going to be needed for these programs or projects?