Thank you, again, Madam Chair.
I'm enjoying this discussion so much today. It got me thinking of one of my favourite New Brunswick scholars, Donald Savoie, the former Canada research chair, if not the current one, in public administration.
In his book from a few years ago, Democracy in Canada, he referenced the Laurentian elite and talked about the concentration of both Ontarians and Quebeckers in the public service, and that the public service culture in Ottawa isn't very representative of the culture of western Canada.
This is something I know the minister is somewhat aware of, but it is true that in certain parts of British Columbia, and much throughout Alberta, people do feel disconnected from our institutions here in Ottawa.
My wife is from Ottawa, and she moved to British Columbia. When she first came there, she said, “Brad, I had no idea about the wealth discrepancies that exist, or how far away or that every neighbourhood just doesn't have a nice ice rink like in the national capital region, which is funded by taxpayers.”
Maybe I'll ask my question of our public servants. What do you think the public service of Canada can do to ensure better and adequate representation of western Canadian values, including value for taxpayer dollars?