With respect to the legislation, it is taking longer than we might have anticipated, but doing it in a co-developed way—making sure we have a process that is acceptable to our indigenous partners and agreeing on the mandate in terms of how we develop that legislation—has not been an easy task. We find ourselves in a position now, with the provinces and territories, where there's a general understanding of the intent of the essential services legislation, but we have varied voices within the indigenous community. We have been engaged with the AFN since the beginning of our efforts and have been travelling the country to engage with communities and leadership within the policing community.
It is simply the struggle of co-developing legislation in a way we are not typically asked to do, so it's taking longer.
With respect to money left on the table, we are a program that flows funds against expenses. We find ourselves, at the end of fiscal years, in situations where not all the money identified for spending has been spent. Therefore, the money doesn't flow. That's to ensure it is not going out the door and being used in other ways and in other programs.
We are stuck in a situation where a province may choose not to match the funds, so we can't flow the funds. It may be, as we have seen in recent years, simply a labour market choice—the RCMP are unable to fully staff their vacant positions as a result of labour market challenges. Consequently, the money doesn't get spent.