I agree with you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses for being here today.
I'll start with Ms. Saab. In our area, in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, we have TransLink, which is struggling to try to expand the transit system out to Langley and to the University of British Columbia. They've called not only for sustained funding—and the gas tax you've pointed to is certainly one example of that—but also for significant increases in funding.
In all the municipalities you represent, first off, how are we dealing with the infrastructure deficit? Is it growing? Does it not mean that this budget really should put in place substantial investments for infrastructure, including public transit?
Second, last night we heard very disturbing testimony from the Insurance Bureau of Canada. They now estimate there was over $5 billion last year in catastrophic climate change-related destruction, both insured and uninsured. What kind of impact does the growing size and scope of the climate emergency have on municipalities when, in the case of the insurance bureau, they are estimating that two-thirds of those damages are uninsured? To what extent does that mean municipalities are being strangled by the growing climate emergency and the lack of action?