Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Minister, for coming this afternoon. We appreciate your attendance at our committee meeting.
I would like to start out by discussing--I think I would be remiss, as a member from a largely rural riding, if I didn't--one of the highlights of the budget, and that's the issue of broadband being extended to areas like mine. I'm wondering if you could maybe provide some details.
Clearly we know that broadband is one of the things that set Canada apart from other countries in terms of being prepared for the new economy. Certainly our rural communities are dependent--just like anybody else--on broadband, or they could become dependent on broadband.
I know there were questions asked on this, but I'm wondering if you could give details on any additional plans: how is this going to be executed, and what we can expect in terms of the benefits of this particular initiative?