Thank you, Madam Chair. I recognize that there is a need to overhaul a lot of the policies and the procurement processes that are being used currently. As I've stated before, I am in my, sort of, collection mode, and I think you can ask most of the business community that I am not turning down meetings with them. I'm meeting with them, and I'm meeting with industry, et cetera, to get that feedback, to ensure that, when I make the changes, I am making the right ones. We're quite busy right now with session, et cetera, so what we have going on is the BIP review. We have the other policy reviews. I'm going to look at the information that is provided by my department, and then I am going to put my private consultant hat on and look at it from a realistic standpoint of somebody trying to bid or get into these policies or use these programs.
While, potentially, it is going to be a little bit of a struggle to get these things moved along, and the procurement process cleaned up, and the checks and balances in place that need to be there, I just ask the Member's patience with me, that it's going to take a bit of time to do so. One of the reasons that I did run was my own frustrations with procurement and BIP and watching companies come in and buy projects, and nobody checked the change orders, which is also about education to project officers or project managers within the client departments as well. What they need to be looking for so that they are a little bit more savvy in recognizing that a contractor or such may be actually trying to buy the work. There's an educational piece within the department -- both departments, because they both have a piece here -- in educating the workers to understand and recognize when the situation is happening, but the checks and balances are missing. I agree. I saw it myself, and all I can say is that I am committed to making those changes, and I know that, if I don't, you're going to be standing up for the next four years and asking me about it. That's my commitment. I commit to you to making those changes.
Also, I just wanted to point that maybe while not normally formalizing a big panel, which is always hard, and like you said, you're not a panel person, one of the things that I really want to do is engage groups who are already set up and running themselves, who have an interest in a certain area. That would be the chambers, like the Premier said, but there is also the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies. They were regularly meeting with procurement. I don't know if that's fallen off since I'm not their president anymore; however, that's one group that I would be engaging. I'd be engaging NAPEG, which is the professional association, the architects association, the construction association. To me, it seems to be a better way to go about it is to go to these groups that are already formed and set up and have a mandate for what they want to see happen and get unbiased feedback from them, without the department's influence. Thank you.