Mr. Speaker, I was first elected in 1988. I have seen my job as a member of Parliament change a lot with the cutbacks to government offices, HRDC, CCRA and the Canada pension plan. In many cases I have become the front line for people in my rural riding. If they need to contact the government, it is done through my office when before they had other places where they could go.
Was the member for St. John's East or his staff given a briefing on the proposed changes and how they would affect the disabled people in his community? Was the staff told how to deal with people with disabilities? I ask this because I did have a briefing with the minister a couple of weeks ago. It was very good.