Thank you all for being here.
I want to weave a couple of notions into my questions and for you to perhaps consider them when you answer.
First, are there expectations from remote rural communities we should know about, that you see as different from others? We can accept the fact that people traditionally have lived in these areas and continue to choose to live there, but are there expectations we should know about and are not aware of--because many of us are not from remote rural areas--that flavour the things the federal government would do? I don't know whether that word makes sense, but perhaps you could consider that notion.
I'd like to pursue the idea of the partnerships. It seems to me that in a lot of situations, not only remote and rural, there's often difficulty, especially if it has to do with resources and such, in harmonizing federal, provincial, and regional government jurisdictions that exist within remote rural communities. I want to explore that idea. It goes beyond red tape. It goes beyond the duplication of services that perhaps happens not only between departments at the federal level but also between departments federally, provincially, and regionally and municipally. I'd like to explore that question with each one of you, if I might.
Are there unique things we should be considering as a committee as we look at this study, specifically dealing with trying to work towards better coordination, harmonization? What are some of things we might be able to do?