Thank you, Chair.
Thank you, Minister.
It is a good day today when we all agreed to move this legislation forward in the House just before we entered today. I think that's a good thing.
Minister, you and I have spoken on several occasions over the last three and a half years about different pieces of this legislation. Personally, I think the concept of monetization is a very positive step for reconciliation across our country.
Mr. Daniels from the FNFA on Monday obviously agreed, and I know you know where I'm coming from here. What he said was, “We really believe that the monetization of government transfers, be it a new source of funding or an existing source of funding, will really be a big game-changer when it comes to closing this infrastructure gap.” He went on a little bit later in our hearing on Monday to say, “I'm sure at some point in time that monetization will happen, but I just don't know when. The concept is sound. It works. Every other government does that.”
Can you just clarify for the committee whether Bill C-45 actually includes government transfers in the context of the “other revenues” component of that, in the context of what Mr. Daniels is asking for? Also, could you answer Mr. Daniels' question as to when this concept of monetization will be available to be utilized by their organization across the country?