Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'm probably going to sound like a broken record to my colleagues here, but this is for Mr. Lehman in terms of the application process of budgeting for municipalities and infrastructure. I did over 10 budgets, I think, when you combine municipal and then my regional ones.
You talked about the stable funding, but also, in having these parameters.... We've heard from some witnesses who say not to freely give cash to municipalities to spend however they like. Even under the gas tax program, there are strict parameters. You are audited by EMO and FCM—in Ontario, anyways, it's EMO—to ensure that you meet compliance.
One of the funding models that's missing, or one of the parameters that's missing, which we always found was an issue in Durham, is eligibility for getting projects shovel-ready. The costs to do the engineering for a road or a bridge or to do the environmental assessments are not eligible as a total project cost, but they can be sometimes millions of dollars for a visionary project.
Has the Large Urban Mayors' Caucus taken a position not on moving away from the application process but on expanding the eligibility so that the funds can actually go towards the total cost of the project and not just the shovels in the ground?