Perhaps just to clarify, the Government of Canada, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, does support the Canadian-based permanent participants with some financial resources to help them participate in the work of the council. This I think has been ongoing since the creation of the council in fact.
Of course, the Department of Foreign Affairs cannot be the only funder of permanent participants. That said, we do find means to support both their travel and their participation, and in some instances also in helping them to strengthen their policy capacity, but not for the entire operation of the organization.
I would say that the permanent participants play an extremely important role in the Arctic Council and on northern issues in general. We certainly look to them as a valuable source of advice and input on a whole range of issues facing the north. I think their participation has been actually critical to the success of the Arctic Council. In many respects it makes it quite a unique organization; you have states and civil society organizations, like the permanent participants, sitting around the table together at the international organization dealing with the issues that of course affect these groups directly.