Mr. Chair, thank you very much.
Public Safety Canada administers the disaster financial assistance arrangements on behalf of the government. The provinces and the municipalities are the first responders, if I can use that term, in meeting the costs of the response and recovery following a natural disaster. The costs are then recoverable through the DFAA.
There have been a number of amendments that we've made to the DFAA, which certainly will benefit areas like my own province that has experienced a flooding. Indeed many individuals in my riding in the city of Winnipeg are very worried about the impact of this flooding. At a time when Parliament should be focusing on very practical issues, like the flooding in Manitoba, unfortunately the opposition parties appear to be focused on having an election. So in my province of Manitoba we'll be having an election because of the opposition, at a time when my energies as a regional minister should be focused on ensuring that we coordinate matters with the province in terms of delivering disaster assistance.
With respect to some of the specifics, Mr. Baker can deal with that.