Gentlemen, thank you for joining us today.
Prior to being elected to this wonderful place, I was in the association management business for 12 years in the greater Toronto area. I had an opportunity to work with different government officials on different regulations and rules and standards, in this case as it related to the housing sector. It was certainly my impression that the people involved in these sectors, the people who do the hands-on work every day, were far better attuned to the standards and what needed to be achieved than, quite frankly, the bureaucrats ever were. The bureaucrats did the best job they could but they were not practical, hands-on people in the industry.
It seems as if there are several associations and boards all doing the same thing. Duplication is likely going on, which is likely costing companies that have to comply in extra time and extra money. Is that what's happening here? Do we have a duplication of services? Maybe we're not using as much of the expertise of private sector operators who know their businesses and know what needs to be achieved.
If that is the case, is there not some way we can pare this down so we have one set of standards, one body that does the accreditation and sets the standard? Should it not be the goal at the end of the day, to have one seamless system that works for everybody?
I'll start with Mr. Dulmage, and then Mr. Rousseau can certainly comment as well.