Mr. Chair, I'm just going to follow up on what Mr. Vincent was questioning.
I just assumed that when the lights were on in a building somebody was cleaning, or something like that. I would be very saddened to know they were vacuuming in the dark. There are some significant risks associated with that. But I certainly appreciate all the public servants who stay.
I used to work at a college, and when the ventilation went off I'd be there burning the midnight oil. I certainly want to extend my thanks and appreciation to those public servants who are working hard beyond the normal hours of operation in service to their country. So I have a bit of a different approach from what some others around this table might have, but I agree that wherever cost savings can be found, taxpayers would appreciate it.
My first line of questioning is on the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. On the whole budgetary process here, it's like the budget is asking permission and the estimates are asking for forgiveness. It seems to be the way these things go. But I understand that it's impossible to have a crystal ball at budget time.
In Indian Affairs and Northern Development there was a requested authorization for $308 million for specific land claims. Why is it $308 million? Is that a typical number we would see on an ongoing basis? Based on the ramped up amount of work, should this be added in? Are we going to see three hundred and some million dollars next year? How much did we see last year relative to these estimates?