Thanks, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that. I'm looking forward to it on Saturday with my family.
We have some great witnesses here today.
I welcome all of you. I thank you for your background and the information you're bringing to this committee. I think it's extremely important we hear from the municipal sector, the Insurance Bureau and so on. Any recommendations, of course, we truly appreciate.
As a past mayor and member of the FCM—I sat on the board for four years—I truly understand where Mayor Martin is coming from. I know the FCM has put forward tremendous programs on behalf of municipalities across the country, big and small. I think our government has responded very well. In many of their programs, they've announced.... For example, the gas tax fund was doubled. In other programs, in terms of infrastructure, there's been a tremendous amount of money spent across the entire country.
Of course, I realize the challenges you have as a mayor. I've been there. I understand where you're coming from. There never seems to be enough money to deal with the issues. Thank you for your comments.
Chief Patrick, I particularly enjoyed your commentary when you talked about extreme weather events, protecting future generations and investing in preventative measures. You referenced, of course, the Lytton fire and the floods in B.C. It seemed as if you had a couple of other preventative measures you wanted to talk about, or things you'd like us, as a government, to invest in to support all towns across this country in terms of wildfires and catastrophes.
Chief, do you want to make a comment or two further on that?