Before I do, Mr. Chair, I'd like to come back to the issue of the budget. We did have two witnesses, Ms. Fisher and Mr. Allen, who very gracefully acceded to participating by phone conference--it's not the ideal way to have witnesses from British Columbia brought in. British Columbia, traditionally, is disadvantaged by its remoteness from Ottawa. I would like to stress for other witnesses that we ensure they're given the best possible opportunity to be witnesses and not discouraged from coming to Ottawa, if that's their preference.
On October 17th, 2006. See this statement in context.