Thank you very much for that question. It's a question I ask myself every day in terms of how to better address the needs of municipalities across the country.
From day one, FCM did mention that we're willing partners with the federal government that is going to pass this legislation into law in October to deliver to our residents the cannabis regime, as long as it's done safely, effectively and with no cost to the municipalities. The federal government, I do believe, did its part by stepping up in December of last year and changing the initial formula on the excise gas tax from a 50:50 ratio between the province and the feds to 75:25.
The Prime Minister has been very adamant in budget 2018, and in subsequent occasions when I've had the honour of meeting with him in Halifax at the FCM conference, that the 25% and more, if necessary, was meant to run through to municipalities to cover our costs. The costs are real, and the arrangement is such that now only two provinces in Canada signed or even verbalized agreements with municipalities as to how those costs are going to be covered. In Halifax we have the concern on a weekly basis. We're passing new bylaws, we're spending staff time, and there is frustration in trying to procure that money, and on many occasions—I say respectfully—it's falling on deaf ears at the provincial level.
This is again a great example of why, collectively, we need to be together and talk about a mature and modern mechanism and framework for fiscal policy, because the current model as far as our getting the 25% is concerned is that we have to knock on the doors harder to get in.