Good day and welcome to all the witnesses. Thank you for appearing before the committee.
Before I get to my questions, I want to make two brief comments. First, in response to Mr. Trottier, if the Roadmap was so important to this government and if the committee's work was essential to developing a long-term plan for our communities, we should have been told well before the fact that the committee's work would be used to assess the Roadmap. Since some groups were not aware of the direction the committee's work would take, they have not been able to present all the information they would have liked to present and they probably did not make their testimony as effective and as relevant as it could have been for our purposes. I object to that.
Second, I was shocked and disappointed to learn that some measures in the Roadmap are being abolished, contrary to what the government proudly announced. I find that objectionable too. I am thinking of Destination Canada and the fact that travel is no longer paid. Just a few short meetings ago, some northern communities came to talk to us about their difficulties in implementing various measures, programs and initiatives due to that very thing: the cost of travel. These groups are subject to more significant constraints. I am certain that other groups also experience similar constraints.
Destination Canada is a program that provides many benefits to communities regarding the renewal of their activities, among other things. I find the cuts to this program extremely unfortunate too. Like with everything else, we are getting information in dribs and drabs. At the very least, I hope that we will soon be told the extent of the damages so that we can react accordingly and help the development of all the communities, both the anglophone communities in Quebec and the francophone communities outside Quebec.
Following my little editorial remarks, I now want to get to your presentation, Ms. Kenny. You told us about the importance of properly defining the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders involved in implementing a new government strategy. That is, in fact, important, but do you think it is enough to ensure sufficient involvement by all stakeholders at the various levels?