Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
To our witnesses, I join my colleagues in welcoming you here.
I want to follow up on the question that my colleague Mr. Hardie asked, because for me that's really the link to why it's perhaps reasonable that this committee should be looking at smart communities and the role that the federal government plays.
I recognize that you didn't have very much time to answer the question, Mr. Andrishak, and that you actually made a commitment to have more of a conversation off-line. However, I would prefer that the conversation take place at this committee. I think it speaks to the role of the federal government, especially in light of the PBO report that was released this morning. What we're reading in the news from that report is that the federal government is well behind not only on spending infrastructure dollars but also on identifying which projects they will spend those dollars on.
It's also being reported that the government is being taken to task for its lack of transparency on spending and that it has not provided any performance measurement framework to make sure that the dollars being spent are meeting their intended goals. I think that speaks directly to what Mr. Hardie has identified.
I am very interested in any comments from our witnesses in terms of what needs to be put in place to ensure that the federal government is identifying the goals and then ensuring that those goals are being met when they provide funding to a municipality.