Thank you.
I know you have been very busy today, maybe as busy as us, because we've seen you before. I want to thank you, Rick, for introducing us to Rolf Hougen tonight. It was a very special time that we spent with him. He's a very important Canadian. I noticed he was wearing his Order of Canada merit there.
I'd like to look at your submission in the context of the fact that we are in a global economic recession. Some of the things you are talking about here don't actually address the fact that we're in special circumstances. We're not really comparing apples with apples unless we take into account that this dip in economic activity is happening everywhere, so I'd be surprised if you remained unaffected. It's no surprise that private sector investment has been down in the past year. It's no surprise that your mining, tourism, and environmental groups sometimes work against each other's interests. Guess what--that happens everywhere.
We did have a lot of optimistic witnesses today. I must say that. In your fifth paragraph you talk about your waterfront real estate remaining vacant. We did hear from one of our witnesses this morning, from the Pelly group, that there is a proposal on the table for developing that property along with a first nations partner. It sounded pretty positive.
Our mission is to look at the federal role or contribution, to try to help out on the economic development front. This is why we're here.
You made the statement that federal programs are designed in Ottawa by technicians who often have limited experience in rural communities. I like to think that most of our programming has actually had significant partnerships. South of 60, the provincial governments have been partners, and I know that the Yukon territorial government and the first nations have been significantly involved in designing much of what's been rolled out in the Yukon. We've heard a significant number of witnesses today who have had very positive things to say about what has been funded. Somehow, there is a disconnect between what you're seeing and what we're hearing. Can you try to join the dots to tell me I'm wrong?