Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Minister.
If I have time, I would like to share my opportunity to speak with member Andy Fillmore in Halifax.
Minister, the riding of Pontiac, as you're well aware is 30,000 square kilometres of territory all across western Quebec. I have over 40 small towns in my riding. There are many Legions. These are community institutions of great significance to our region. They're institutions in the community that go beyond providing support to veterans and their families; they provide a meeting place for communities.
Your recent announcement of $20 million of support landed very well. There was great appreciation for it. I've had that opportunity to speak with many of my Legions and they want you to know how much they appreciate that investment, but they also want you to know that they're concerned about their future, they have major financial difficulties and they're very concerned about their ability to provide that extra level of support.
I wonder if you could speak to the investment that has been made, but also the challenges that face our Legions that are so important to all of Canada.