Madam Chair, the child and family services committees, there was a commitment made that is being honoured. The work is being done identifying up to five. That was the ongoing commitment going from the last Assembly. Student financial assistance, there is work being done. There is an existing policy in place that will be applied as it now exists until such a time as it is decided by this Legislature that there is going to be a change, to use two examples.
This appropriation is the money to allow the government to carry on programs and business that now exist. It is not a rubber-stamp or a blank cheque for the government to just unilaterally wipe the slate clean and make all sorts of arbitrary changes. That is not the intent.
When we had this discussion we agreed to this process. It was because the new Legislature wanted that opportunity to have a full discussion on business plans, and we are fully committed to doing that. So the Member is interpreting the fact that we don’t have all the business plans detailed and ready to go and that we’re honest, that his whole approach is that we’re not willing or forthcoming. That fact is we haven’t had any committee input, we are developing the business plans and we fully intend to have that discussion. In the meantime we all agree that government has to keep working, because it’s going to take us three months to do that. We will continue to run government as it now exists. There are no additions, deletions, changes and we have no other ulterior motive other than that. Thank you.