Thank you, Madam Chair. I too want to commend my colleague on the other side for her work and effort to work with us as Regular Members and with our chair and yourself to come to some sort of a solution here to feel like we were actually heard in what we want versus just being told no, there's not enough money, which I think becomes really frustrating on our side when we do see inefficiencies and such in the government to then be told that small amounts of money are not available to us for very important things that we know can be effectual, then to watch and see government waste on the other side. So I do appreciate that I think this Minister has really listened to us. And while I think I would like to have seen more, I know that there's only so much that actually can be done with our budget. So a little bit is better than nothing, Madam Chair. So I just wanted to say a few things around some of the concessions we got and that was, first of all, with the homelessness money. I want to make sure that that isn't money that just goes into a government sort of glut or black hole of administrative costs and actually find that money making its way into NGOs' hands as well as Indigenous governments' hands where I always feel that that is more effectively spent and managed.

And further to that, I do see more of a consideration through the four years of our term to putting more money into the hands of our NGOs and our partners, and I do thank the Minister and the government for that because I've said numerous times in this House that NGOs, Indigenous governments, communities governments, will make their money go much further, and the indirect benefits of having that money spent in the communities by those people are immeasurable and really can't be caught in any sort of budget spreadsheets. So I think it's something that we all need to keep in mind as we prepare budgets that for every dollar spent there could be six returning; we just don't see that as a line item.

I think another issue that is a big problem with the government, and I hope I see -- I'm seeing changes is the gatekeeping of these funds that we've asked for. So it's one thing to put all the money in but then if not -- the money isn't spent, great, you know, it's not doing anything. And I know there has been money left on the table for various funding pots that people can apply on. And it's always hard because people will apply, and then their project will fall through, and then that money sits in the budget looking like it didn't get spent even there was an intent to spend it. However, I think some of that speaks a bit to, like, flexibility of application processes, of reporting processes. And I've heard the government numerous times, particularly around suicide prevention, say that it's not onerous, it's one page, that kind of thing. But it's a perception. So, and I heard a lot from this Premier when I was in Cabinet that perception is reality. And if they have the idea that, you know, it is something that they have to do and hurdles to jump through, they just won't do it. And it's not a matter of it being the easiest thing in the world to be done from a government perspective but if you're not getting people even coming to the table to have the conversation or look for the money, it's pointless, it's futile. So I think, too, especially when that money is federal money, I don't understand why our government wouldn't be more flexible in allowing people to access it. It's not their money and therefore we should be trying to get it out the door as quickly as possible. That being said, I do know that there are restrictions and measures put in place by the federal government around how money can be spent but then I think that's on Cabinet and Ministers to then go in and advocate for us properly with the federal government, to tell them that this doesn't work for us. And, really, I think that's an area where we could have a lot of improvement, especially as I hear the false flag of this is federal government process that's holding this money up.

So I just wanted to say that I do actually, though, despite that, see improvement in this area, and I hope that that will continue through and it will definitely be something that I would be pushing for in the conversation for the next Assembly, whether I'm here or not, but making sure that people are actually looking at the intent of programs and not the black and white A, B, C, D, E of the program, and this is how it has to be to be done. Let's be flexible, let's be creative. We're small, we should stop burdening ourselves with this, you know, crazy bureaucracy of hurdles and hoops. Instead we should be able to get our money out quicker and faster because there's less of us. So, yeah, I just want to say I think overall I agree with my colleague that, you know, there is a perception that this has been a very contentious Assembly and I mean, it has been, but I think if anybody wants to look around at the last year or two, there has been huge improvements. I've heard my colleague say numerous times that having been here in the last Assembly that this one is more productive, that this one is more collaborative, that we are working together, and -- though I can only speak for this side of the House, but I see that. And I see all of us putting aside our personal wants at times to support each other and our colleagues and that gives me hope. And it gives me hope that the Minister of Finance has listened to that and been receptive, so. That's my thoughts on it. I hope we continue down this path of change and that we don't see everything reverting back and that the Cabinet and government follows through on the promises that have been made to our side of the House. Thank you, Madam Chair.