Thank you, Madam Chair.
I'll respond briefly. For the record, let me first suggest, further to Dr. Thomas's comment.... We organize 10 to 12 interns per year. Others, as he suggested, have different numbers. We were able to both recruit and fund the stipends for 10 to 12, depending on availability.
Through you, Madam Chair, let me say that our allowance for the individual interns really speaks to what Dr. Dance referenced earlier, which is ensuring a level playing field that everybody has access to across the country. We've had interns from all provinces and all regions, and it is an extraordinarily expensive undertaking when one considers that Ottawa's not home. They are coming specifically for this program, so it's not a long-term plan. It's not even schooling, where one can project for two, three or four years and make appropriate arrangements.
It wasn't compensation. It was an ability to ensure that everybody had equal access to the program, and they responded well to that.
However, I will conclude that, in addition, we have felt that it was part of our mandate to instill a sense of responsibility to community and to Canada within our own constituency, and the parliamentary internship program was a vital part of being able to translate that into something real.