Mr. Speaker, to respond on the issue of the ice storm, our hearts go out to every Canadian who suffered through that, many without heat or electricity for hours and hours or, in some cases, days. I know in my community there were many who did suffer.
There is no government in history that has given more support to the municipalities than this government. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities has applauded our budget, and the primary reason the Federation of Canadian Municipalities is supportive of our government's action is the gas tax funding and GST funding it gets is a predictable, long-term investment that it can count on from year to year. We have doubled it, we have legislated it, and now we have indexed it for inflation. Therefore, our municipalities are in better shape in their ability to forecast projects they want to carry out in the upcoming construction year.