Good day, Mr. Wernick, gentlemen. I will get right to the point, as I only have five minutes. The budget provides funding for northern development. I’ve tried to find some funding earmarked for Nunavik, but I’ve had no luck. I haven’t found anything in the budget about housing initiatives for Nunavik. I’d like to know if the department has any plans in that regard.
Mention is made on page 7 of entrepreneurial assistance for First Nations, specifically Aboriginal peoples. I hope that this assistance will be provided to all First Nations, including the Inuit. I’d like to know how much funding will be available for this initiative. To what extent will the department be able to help contractors working on reserves and in First Nation communities?
There is one other point that I would like to bring up. I do not want to call into question the department’s decision to place selected communities under trusteeship, but we all know the kind of problems that arise when a decision like that is taken. Contractors who live off reserve in Quebec have undertaken some major projects. These contractors, who in the past were paid on a regular basis—in small increments, mind you, but nevertheless they were paid regularly by the community—are now seeing their payments suspended for a period of one, two or three years. I don't know how long the trusteeship arrangement is going to last, but once it’s over, communities that are looking to move forward with some big projects will be very hard pressed to find contractors willing to take on the job. This situation could endanger the health and safety of these communities. I’m wondering if these budgets could provide some kind of funding, prior to the trusteeship arrangement being put in place, to compensate companies that have carried out real, much-needed work.