Thank you, Ms. van Dieen. I appreciate it.
I'll direct my questions to you, then.
Parliamentarians were also told the following:
Where the scale of the disaster is such that it affects more than one province, or where it occurs on territory within the federal domain, the federal government will have primary if not exclusive responsibility to provide for public safety.
My question for you is this. The scale of the disaster has obviously affected more than one province. I think we all can acknowledge that. However, it seems that the federal government has taken the opposite view, that the provinces have primary responsibility to act, with the federal government playing a supportive role, if asked. Why is that?