Mr. Speaker, there was a completely independent process for determining which communities could apply as smart communities.
There are some who did not qualify and who had no trouble understanding that it was an independent committee.
The mayor of Deer Lake, Newfoundland, said “I have been around government for many, many years and I have not seen a process as fair and apolitical in my whole life as this one was. These people won it on their own merit so our committee offers sincere congratulations to them”.