Thank you, Chair.
I'm very pleased to be filling in today. This is different, as I mainly sit at the front end of the table. But I am very pleased to be here today.
As a former volunteer fireman, I understand emergencies and disasters to a limited degree, and I've taken part over the years in training. And as a former municipal councillor, I understand the chain of command from the bottom up, or let's say the front line, the people who actually deliver the Emergency Management Act at the source. Mr. Shipley and I were both on municipal councils, so we do understand—in rural Ontario, anyway—how those things work.
In the action plan provided to the committee it states that Public Safety Canada will develop standard operating procedures with each province and territory and the respective public safety regional office.
Can the Deputy Minister for Public Safety describe the number of hours that go into these negotiations? How labour-intensive is this process?