Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Minister Baird, I want to commend you on the very important infrastructure component of the economic action plan. I can tell you it's been very well received in the city of Mississauga, the greater Toronto area, and southern Ontario. These infrastructure projects are important for all of Canada. They're very important for southern Ontario and the greater Toronto area, where we've experienced a lot of difficulty, given the downturn in the auto sector.
The Regional Municipality of Peel has expressed its support for the infrastructure projects and funding you've announced. The mayor of my city, Mayor Hazel McCallion, has said, “If they want the cities to get on with projects to provide jobs, the money has got to start to flow. It can't be tied up in environmental assessments, both at the provincial and federal levels.” I'd like to ask you what more you think can be done at the provincial and municipal levels to speed up the process.
Secondly, could you comment on how the gas tax funding would benefit larger communities such as Mississauga and allow communities like Mississauga greater flexibility in moving forward on the many projects they've submitted to your department?