Madam Chairman, I want to talk about a warning that goes along with fixing of administrative problems. When it is determined that there are administrative problems and new systems are put in place to fix them, sometimes we can go overboard. I had an experience in my riding, and I am sure it is similar across the country, where certain programs received so much attention that we went overboard.
Social service client groups told me that they were being held up so long because the administrative procedures that we had put into place to solve a problem, which was not enough care in the delivery of the program, had gone overboard. I want to warn against the Government of Canada in general doing that at any time. We need to be careful not to go overboard and over-administrate to the extent that hurts people, especially those who are the most needy.
I can see where a similar thing could come up in the minister's department if the programs and services were slowed down too much in respect to two huge megaprojects that we will have shortly in northern Canada. I hope we will have them because of the great benefits. One is the Mackenzie valley pipeline and the other is the Alaska highway pipeline. To a large extent these pipelines will go through small rural communities that then will have a massive influx of people, at least for a short time. They therefore will need government services to deal with those people and it will have to be done on a timely basis, because if Canada is not ready for this the United States will get its gas from some other source and Canada will lose all the benefits.
I do not expect a long answer to this, but I hope the minister, as he does reviews and ensures that programs are well handled, will keep in mind the fact that they are also done on a timely basis so that Canada can remain competitive in regard to services his department might have to provide.