Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you as well to all our guests who are here today.
As someone who was a mayor for quite some time, I think probably the number one thing that most mayors and everyone wants to do is get shovels in the ground. It was certainly a priority when I was a mayor, and it's a priority now. I have seven towns and townships in Simcoe—Grey with many needs, and I understand, quite frankly, that we need large, different infrastructure, even for lending the money out for certain projects that are larger than the municipalities—say, connecting different towns and cities together. I understand that. I think it would be a lot easier, and maybe I could get your thoughts on it, that when the gas tax was introduced, it gave us an opportunity that's sitting there—and it's a frustration I get—to have reliable and stable funding to know how to move forward.
To give you insight into what goes on outside Ottawa, the politicians who are in those areas know their area. It costs a lot of money to get these applications going forward. You get your planners and engineers, and you do up the application. Then you sit and wait, and it's like a lottery to see if you get the money or don't get the money. Some of these towns and townships don't have that much money to begin with when it comes down to just getting into the application process and for the size of the project.
I wonder if there's any thought or insight into that we make it similar to the gas tax, other than those huge projects, for every town and township, so we don't create winners and losers. I know that's a frustration. If they know what that is, it's easier to do a large project and to do a debenture if you know those funds are coming in. Could you comment on that process?