Yes, I was. Thank you.
Of course, the gas tax has always flowed money to meet local needs with efficiency and accountability, as you've mentioned. That's, of course, why municipalities supported its introduction in 2005 and its extension in 2008 by the present government. And that's why we also applauded Mr. Ignatieff and Mr. Layton when they recently committed to flow more funding through the gas tax fund. It's also why we thought the gas tax fund model would be a good way to get stimulus dollars to quality projects quickly.
Having said that, it should be noted, first of all, that we as FCM were not part of the decision-making process. In the end, the government stimulus plan wasn't based on the gas tax fund, although it's certainly more streamlined and less centralized than other cost-shared, application-based programs. What counts for us is that it's a powerful tool for fighting the global economic crisis.
It should also be mentioned that just because we didn't get to participate in choosing the program, it doesn't mean that we don't believe, like all Canadians, that the program has to be accountable and transparent.