Thank you very much, Minister, for being here with us today.
People in my riding of Calgary Centre are very concerned about balancing the budget in 2015-16 so I want to commend you here for maintaining a modest increase in your budget of 0.07%, which I believe will help keep us on a sound fiscal footing.
They are also concerned about keeping the economy going so that we can fund health care, social services, and other important programs that may be at some risk given that our number one customer, the United States, has now got its own oversupply of oil and gas, and in fact is in the process of becoming a competitor.
I want to commend you on your efforts to diversify our markets while maintaining a close eye on the continually improving environmental regulations we have in Canada. I think it's very important that you strike that balance and I commend you for your efforts there.
I want to ask you about that. I see we are spending more money on the National Energy Board, I believe $12 million, and I wonder if you could explain to us what that money is going to be used for and whether it will have any negative impact on our ability to balance the budget.