Thanks, Mr. May. I appreciate the question. It's a great question
One thing we often say as NGOs is that if we're not needed, that's great, but we would hate to find out that there was something we could have done where somebody just didn't know to engage with the NGO community.
The NGOs that are part of the humanitarian workforce program funded by the government look at some of those requests for federal assistance and look at what the needs are. Is it something really specialized that only military personnel can accomplish, or are there capabilities within the NGO community where they could offer those things?
The majority of the time, we find that it's not necessarily only the military that can do it. It's just really about being able to rapidly get them on the ground. Because they are a federal resource, they're kind of that first go-to. The entire goal behind the humanitarian workforce program is not to have the military be the first line of defence when there's a request for federal assistance.
Many, if not all, of the NGOs within our consortium have a presence. They're not just national NGOs, but they have a presence in communities all across the country. Locally, they may already be engaged, and then other resources from within that NGO from other provinces or territories may also be engaged. Then it's adding another layer. Really, in many cases they're already there. There's just more that NGOs can do.
In my mind, investing in the NGO capabilities is a very strong way forward to make the investment there, as opposed to in specialized military forces, which can be used for other things. As I said in my opening statement, there may be roles that NGOs can play on their own. In other cases, it may enhance what our military can do.