Thank you, Hans.
The FCM has been the national voice of municipal government since 1901. We represent 90 per cent of the Canadian population in more than 1,900 municipalities in every province and territory. Members include Canada's largest cities, small urban and rural communities, and 18 provincial and territorial municipal associations, like our friends in British Columbia.
We are here today to discuss three issues: Canada's Economic Action Plan, the importance of continuing to work together for the three levels of government, that is the municipal, provincial-territorial and federal, and what will happen after the Economic Action Plan is gone.