 Thank you, Mr. Speaker, good afternoon colleagues, Mr. Speaker, every time budget time comes around, you know, I am always, you know, amazed by how time flies and you know, always want to give thanks, you know, thanks and praise. First fellow Seniors 5-8 says give thanks in all things. Mr. Speaker, I note that the proceedings so far have been without disturbance of any kind, although I just noticed a little back and forth and I'm hoping it's not going to start now. There's a glaring absence in the chamber right now and that may be responsible, but we will hopefully go forward with, you know, very healthy exchange. Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge the presence for the member for Babu No. Madam, I'm very happy to see you and you look very well, you know, but, you know, I don't rush the brush, you know, just take it easy, you know, because many of us, you know, have had our challenges and Mr. Speaker, I'm sure you can appreciate, you know, we have to give thanks, we have to give thanks for every day that we live, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I indulge your patience in... I'm trying to focus, yes, yes. I indulge your patience, Mr. Speaker, in my brief preamble just to guide the way that I will be going forward. And Mr. Speaker, it is very likely that someone following our parliament would observe that the government in office would rather not have the opposition present during parliamentary debates. On the contrary, Mr. Speaker, a healthy democracy would relish constructive discourse without the slander and maybe that has unfortunately become a norm in your house. It's a fact, it's a fact. Mr. Speaker, the estimates of revenue and expenditure presented leaves ample space for speculation and inconsistency. And my contribution today would be mainly seeking clarification and expressing concerns identified to date. Of course, Mr. Speaker, I say to date because, you know, as we go along, you know, certain things are identified and you would like to speak about it. And so, Mr. Speaker, I make my contribution well-intended, contrary to the statements made by the from the member and he has already started the member from North, from Denry North, who somehow believes that I make nasty remarks and I'm still waiting for him to advise me on the nasty remarks that I make. I'm not sure what bug I have put in his in his in his nest, but apparently there's something that irritates him whenever I make a statement. Of course, Mr. Speaker, I will make mention to matters relating to my constituency, but we'll be more detailed when we return to the house to discuss the appropriation bill as stated by the member, the Minister of Finance. We're hoping to return on April 23rd. Mr. Speaker, as I listened to the Minister of Finance, I had reason to reflect on the performance of the past administration while I, which I served him. And Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, I reflected on the onslaught of COVID-19 and the crippling effect it had on our economy. Many included members opposite attempted to don't play the occasion and the aftermath of the pandemic. But history will reflect that the government of the United Workers Party was a divine intervention to save St. Lucia from the chaos and pandemonium that the COVID brought upon us, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance, the member for the Concastries East, indicated that wages and salaries cost the government about $575 million annually and made up about 40% of total expenditure. In addition, Mr. Speaker, debt servicing and interest payments of about $370 million are roughly 20%. Mr. Speaker, during the COVID pandemic, nobody had compassion for the government in office. I remember dealing with the trade unions, Mr. Speaker, and obviously the opposition then had no compassion as well. Mr. Speaker, you are fully aware that any default in debt and what the application would be for a country. Mr. Speaker, we never missed a payment or a debt obligation. And, Mr. Speaker, we did all that and the price of fuel never went past $30.05. Today, Mr. Speaker, we hear about a surplus budget. Today, Mr. Speaker, we hear about surplus budget. I think the Prime Minister spoke about a surplus of about $100 million. The question, Mr. Speaker, is could that surplus not be used to subsidize fuel at the pump? That is how you put people first. Mr. Speaker, where is the benefit? What is the benefit, Mr. Speaker, and where is the benefit to the public of boasting of surplus? Mr. Speaker, you know the government balance sheet is very unique to what we know as a balance sheet, Mr. Speaker. And the government balance sheet is very unique. And when it comes to surplus, the government obviously can decide how they adjust that surplus. As government, and Mr. Speaker, you know, the thing about it is the people out there can interpret, can interpret that a surplus could mean either overtaxing or not using the money for the people. Mr. Speaker, in fact, when you boast of a surplus, it can also be interpreted as a rich man continuing to praise and worship the money he has in the bank, but not taking care of his children. Mr. Speaker, but Mr. Speaker, very importantly, very importantly, Mr. Speaker, that's my own writing, honourable member, that's my own writing. Mr. Speaker, there was a revelation that was made and the solution public needs to take it very, very seriously, Mr. Speaker, because it appears to me, Mr. Speaker, that the government has finally opened a lockbox because according to the Honourable Prime Minister, the lockbox that could not be found, he was able to pay DFCs not only for 2023, but for 2024. And you know, Mr. Speaker, isn't I think that's extremely amazing. That's extremely amazing, Mr. Speaker, because it appears that the lockbox is working the magic. Mr. Speaker, the then opposition had everything negative to say on our borrowing to keep the country moving. But since coming into office, this government has also borrowed millions in the name of COVID and wants to give merit to their borrowing, but consider our borrowing reckless. When civil servants, Mr. Speaker, never Mr. paid it. Mr. Speaker, I strongly believe and I'm consistent in the House that there is a time and a place for all borrowing, as long as the people we serve benefit. But Mr. Speaker, let's move on. Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance, no less than six times in his presentation, spoke about administrative bottlenecks preventing the efficient deliverables. I say that again, Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance, the Honourable Prime Minister spoke no less than six times about administrative bottlenecks preventing the efficient deliveries deliverable. Sorry. Mr. Speaker, I am not sure if what the Honourable Prime Minister was referring to was meant to speak to government bureaucracy and the delivery of efficient service to the general public, because if that is what he's speaking about, I support him 100% because based on what we are all aware of, when we have voices from various quarters, people complain and what seems like an eternity to get supposedly simple matters finalised. The very member who sits next to me now, the member from Bifort North South, sorry, has lamented the challenges, the difficulties and how onerous it has been for himself and members in his profession to get things done particularly at various registries. So I seek clarification, Honourable Prime Minister, because on one hand, while I believe that you may be speaking about bureaucracy, it could also be interpreted that the bottlenecks refer to something else. And I actually faced it in government as well, various bottlenecks, but I do believe that some of the bottlenecks that they have in government is to protect us from ourselves. Obviously, Mr. Speaker, I'm in no position to lecture the Minister of Finance because in his profession, his exposure and a number of job assignments he has, he would be very, very familiar with what we call systems and procedures. He would be very familiar with that. So Mr. Speaker, under head 14 electoral department, Mr. Speaker, just some observations that I have made. I notice an increase under the recurrent expenditure of just over $1.7 million. From my experience, I know elections cost a lot more than that, but there are lots of questions that I would like to ask as to whether is that preparation for elections? Is that a particular census that we are going to be seeing coming? Or are we finally going to address the whole issues of boundaries? So these are the questions that I would like to ask just on that particular issue. Surely the appropriate place for that would have been the Standing Finance Committee. Mr. Speaker, I am referring to what is in the estimates and revenue. It is the estimates and revenue that the Standing Finance Committee approved and it is after I called each head, I called upon members whether they had any questions. I'm not saying that the Minister of Finance will not respond to you. I'm saying to you the more appropriate place for those questions was in fact the Standing Finance Committee. I appreciate your guidance Mr. Speaker, but we would have been there all day if I had to address some of the questions. So I think... Well remember, one of the things I don't think members appreciate is that the first job is a member of parliament. Guided Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, under head 41, Ministry of Agriculture. I notice a slight decline Mr. Speaker and obviously I'm concerned because as a government that promotes, you know, eat what you grow and grow what you eat, you know, Mr. Speaker, I would have expected to see a major input, particularly to subsidize farmers to diversify. Mr. Speaker, we're very familiar that it is very difficult to obtain good labor now on the farms. We are also familiar with the cost of labor. I applaud the Minister of Agriculture because I am aware that he has saw some tillers. I believe a lot more of that should be distributed throughout the communities. But Mr. Speaker, I believe a lot more should be done with regards to purchasing seedlings, seeds. The member for Souffre-François Jacques had to purchase a greenhouse from her CDP. I believe that should be on a wider scale from the Ministry of Agriculture to get these for our farmers. Irrigation, Mr. Speaker, irrigation lines, Mr. Speaker, is critical for our farmers. You know, I'm sure the Minister of Agriculture is very familiar with the Delsa water tank and he can see the miracles that it does for the farmers there. So the irrigation is critical, Mr. Speaker. I note, Mr. Speaker, that there was also some funds subscribed to enhancing the cocoa sector, cocoa sector enhancement project. And I'm hoping that, you know, we do grow certain parts of Souffre-François Jacques, very, very good cocoa, Mr. Speaker. And I'm hoping that, you know, there would be some sort of, you know, allocation made to specific farmers in the areas of Choselle, Saltibus, that could take advantage of that, Mr. Speaker. But more so, Mr. Speaker, and I want to tie both the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Commerce with regards to the whole cocoa and value added as it relates to, you know, what we produce, Mr. Speaker. For too long, we've been exporting and have to bring back, you know, some of the things that we export. We see various areas in Souffre, in Babunot. We recognize people who make the chocolate, Mr. Speaker. But there's so much more that can be done with what we grow, Mr. Speaker. In fact, Mr. Speaker, I have a friend, you know, every time I travel, you know, he said to me, make sure you bring up my braps for me. That's how we refer to breadfoot, you know. And he took me one time to see the kind of byproducts that are made with breadfoot, you know, in Miami, Mr. Speaker. And it's amazing what we can do. But, you know, we need to start to focus a lot more on what we can do with the very things that we grow, Mr. Speaker. I also want to recognize the growth in our CMOS industry. It's going in the right direction. I want to applaud the Shuozel Fishermen Cooperative for having an alliance with the Shuozel Secondary School. And they were able to produce something like 42 kilograms of very, very good CMOS. And, you know, we're hoping that we could see that sort of exercise being done in other schools, you know, to encourage and give various options to school leavers in terms of what they can get into, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I cannot leave the issue of agriculture and fisheries without speaking about the impact that the work that's been done on the Shuozel Fish Port rehabilitation of $5.3 million, Mr. Speaker. And I want to again thank the Japanese government and JICA for, you know, supporting us when we went up to Japan and ensuring that we were able to obtain these funds. And I'm really hoping that that issue in the Shuozel Fish Port would be one that is, we will see the back of Mr. Speaker. I have been thinking, Mr. Speaker, in terms of how maybe the Ministry of Agriculture can also assist farmers. And, Mr. Speaker, I think one of the areas that we need to look at is the high cost that our farmers pay when they do not have irrigation from a river source or spring. And they have to use Wasco. However, Wasco would charge them at a commercial rate. I think maybe the time has come for us to provide some sort of subsidy for our farmers and encourage them maybe to hire one or two people. And then based on, you know, the kind of employment they create, we can provide subsidies as it relates to helping them with their Wasco bill because that's a very big input, the cost. Particularly now, we're hearing that 2024 would be an extremely patched year. And you can well imagine, you know, the struggles of some of our farmers will be going through, you know, during that drought period. So, it's just something I think that we need to start exploring in terms of how much more assistance can be given to our farmers. Mr. Speaker, the member for Soufre Fonsezac, she's just, she spoke just before me and I got the impression that she would be speaking after me because maybe she thought maybe I would, you know, raise various issues under her ministry. But, you know, Mr. Speaker, and I've told them, I've told the member for Soufre Fonsezac that sometimes she reads me very wrong. Just like some time ago, she made an accusation of something I said, which I have said to her that I never said it, Mr. Speaker. But I noticed there was a slight increase under recurrent expenditure. And I just want to ask the question as to whether that would be as a result of, as she admitted that the ministry may have to source sugar from outside of the region and whether that increase could be as a result of that. But it is something, Mr. Speaker, that I'm concerned about because, you know, if we have to pass on the costs to particularly our small business people who thrive on some of the sugar, the derivative that they make, you know, the juices, the fudges, the thing, you know, obviously there's a domino effect and everything, you know, would increase. I think maybe the time has come and maybe with the advent of the new warehouse that we look very closely as to whether the people that we provide, some of the rice flour sugar at subsidy costs, whether we need to start identifying the vulnerable sectors that really need that. And I mean, why would various hotels want to take advantage of, you know, the subsidies that we provide? So maybe the time has come for us to really hone in on the people who particularly need these subsidies, you know, and work with that. I mean, it's some work to do, but it's something that we need to start because we cannot maintain that kind of subsidies in the long term, Mr. Speaker. And we really have to, you know, look at it from a serious standpoint, Mr. Speaker. I also, as I said earlier, Mr. Speaker, I do believe, and maybe even under the MSME facility, we need to encourage particularly the sovereign constituencies where agriculture maybe is a more way of life that if they can come up with the value added products that will be quicker to assist them in getting some of the loans to purchase the machinery and everything. You know, we have already amended the fiscal incentive act to accommodate various machinery coming in, Mr. Speaker. And so now I believe we need to encourage our people to, you know, diversify. Mr. Speaker, the member for Castries Southeast, is it Southeast? Mr. Speaker, this morning he was not his usual self. I will admit he was not his usual self this morning. Normally, you know, I listen intently to his presentation, but I believe this morning he was a little all over the place, Mr. Speaker. You know, making statements, I'll be your first, be your last, dead, buried or dead, you know, things like this. So, Mr. Speaker, and I believe, Mr. Speaker, it could be as a direct result of the significant reduction in his budget, Mr. Speaker. He may not have been too happy about it. But that's just, that's just me assuming, Mr. Speaker, because I was, I actually was extremely taken aback, extremely taken aback, Mr. Speaker, and we can turn to page serious reduction. I mean, there's a portion of it that has been transferred to the Ministry of Tourism, which is the NCA. Obviously, as he rightfully said, that's the right place. So I have no qualms in that. But very surprised, Mr. Speaker, under page 448, page 448, line 1601, public assistance, Mr. Speaker. Public assistance has dropped to over $10 million. I find that extremely hard to agree, to support, Mr. Speaker, considering, you know, the government that speaks. No, no, no, no. 1601 speaks to public assistance. Yes. And it dropped, last year it was 26. No, no, no, no, no. You look at wrong figures, honorable member. You look at wrong figures. Yeah, the figures, the figures are right there, unless you, unless you've got a difference. Yeah, but that, that's what it is, you know. So I think, I mean, public assistance, and we know, all of us know, as parliamentary reps, you know, the pressure we have to bear, the, the, the, the, the member for grossly told you about the, the number of people that he has come into his office, Mr. Speaker. So when the government makes such a significant reduction, you know, it is, it is a concern. And, and I'm hoping that the, the, the prime minister can maybe speak about it. Yeah. I also want to caution the member for Castery Southeast, because, you know, he was boasting about some of the initiatives. And one of them, he said that Castery Southeast will get their own truck and their own pickup. I want to caution him about it, Mr. Speaker, because I remember, when I first came into office in 2016, Chosal, Salty Bus, constituency council had in, had an excavator and a truck, and they were both rotting away. One of the reasons was that the constituency council could not maintain it. In addition to that, I think the member comes from a constituency where they have the most trucks in St. Lucia, most trucks in St. Lucia. I line, I line, I line. So I do that. I line. So, you know, to make such a statement, I believe, you know, I think he's treading on very dangerous and sensitive, sensitive area, Mr. Speaker. So you're taking work away from your constituents, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, despite the fact that the member for then Rinov occasionally chides me, I must say that there are areas under his portfolio that I'm very happy to see increases on. And one of the areas, Mr. Speaker, is the area of adult literacy. And I say so, Mr. Speaker, because in my former life, I remember sponsoring or recommending sponsorship to an adult literacy program in Bas, Bas Laguas. And I actually had to go to some of the night classes and make some presentations, Mr. Speaker. And I can tell you, it was an extremely rewarding exercise to see how some of the adults embraced the program. And at the end of the day, you could have, it was very visible, some of the improvements in terms of their ability to read and write and sign their name, Mr. Speaker. So I'm hoping that that literacy, adult literacy program is something that is island wide. I'm also hoping that as also the Minister of Sustainable Development, the member will try to ensure that there's some education with regards to keeping our environment pristine, Mr. Speaker. Because I believe a lot of the older people are very guilty of thinking that it is okay to do various practices that are dangerous to the environment. When I drive with my young kids, Mr. Speaker, and we see people fling things out of a vehicle, they ask the question, why are people doing that? Because they understand and it's being taught in a big way at our schools, the preservation of our environment. So they know when they see certain things that it is wrong. And so I'm hoping that in that adult literacy program, there is a component to address the whole environmental and protecting our environment. Because, Mr. Speaker, the future generation will be the ones judging us. The member also spoke about the school rehabilitation. And I think it was sometime last year when he came to the house alone. And he got significant sums. And he did indicate that two schools in Chosel would be getting some support. So it is something that I appreciate. But I also want to, and the member was extremely passionate in his delivery, particularly as he relates to other people wanting to take the role of, which is rightfully his. And he spoke, Mr. Speaker, very, very passionate about that. And I want to encourage him to continue to speak like that as a member for then we know because if it's wrong, it's always wrong. Wrong can never be right on depending on what side you are. And Mr. Speaker, I can tell you, and the Honorable Prime Minister may not be aware of it, but there are interventions happening in my community that I'm not even aware of. I'm not even aware of various interventions happening in my community. And I'm getting to know what's happening after the fact. And education too, because various rehabilitations that I'm not aware of. Yeah, recommend contractors. You want to shade. You want to shade. You shade. But that's one of the two. But there's one more thing I thought I should mention, which is I'm very curious. And I made the members spoke about that under his budget, they would be paying off a significant portion of outstanding fees to you regarding the law. Yeah, yeah. But I'm kind of curious because, and I was indicating to the member for you for itself, that as far as I can remember, law has not been on the priority list. So I was wondering how far back this thing goes, because if, and you may, it may have gone very far because, because what you're saying is the university was saying that they will no longer accept our, our, our, our, yeah, because of that. So that could be something that goes way back. But I know that that was something that, that was removed on the priority list a while back. Sorry, 900. Okay. So I think you spoke about half a million. Yeah. Okay. Mr Speaker, my good friend is also my parliamentary rep, although I don't vote in his constituency, head 54. Mr Speaker, the government has on several occasions told whoever is listening that their plans for improving spotting facilities and capturing and assisting talented sportsmen and women. No problem in that, Mr Speaker. Because Mr Speaker, if we are honest, I think various administrations have recognized the idea approach to honing this challenge should be more precise and forward and focus. Mr Speaker, it was with this conviction that the last administration heralded the sports academy, Mr Speaker. And obviously, when you introduce something, there's always going to be room for improvement. And so, Mr Speaker, we did improve spotting facilities. There was major lighting done in various fields, Mr Speaker. And the lighting was particularly with regards to our athletes having more flexibility with their time so that, you know, when they come from work, they have the avenue so that they can, you know, conduct their various disciplines. Of course, Mr Speaker, I think it's extremely important that the playing areas, the surfaces, the academy, all of that is useless if we do not have very, very rigid programs in place to encourage our clubs and our individuals to take advantage of what is available. And Mr Speaker, it is very important that collaboration should be done with the various communities and the sports desk, Mr Speaker. But, Mr Speaker, I note, and I will speak to some of the concerns. And Mr Speaker, yes, I'm guided by your advice and maybe next time I'll go in that direction. But, Mr Speaker, I note of concern to me, Mr Speaker, page 608, grants and contributions. And, Mr Speaker, I note that an amount of $1,813,300 will be provided to the National Lottery's Association, National Lottery's Authority. Mr Speaker, you can well imagine me being a bit perplexed with that allocation to the NLA, Mr Speaker, because only Tuesday gone we came to parliament to approve a guarantee of $80 million for the NLA of which, Mr Speaker, the Minister of Finance made a point that the government will not be paying that debt. It is only a guarantee. No, you made that point. Everything I say is the truth, you know. As you said, you'll come for me. You said you'll come for me. Mr Speaker, Mr Speaker, so that really is Mr Deputy Speaker and he comes to his come to his own style, as you said. But please don't stop. But Mr Deputy Speaker, you can really imagine me being perplexed, because I'm hoping that the Honorable Prime Minister would explain that $1.8 million that has been given as a grant to the NLA considering what has just happened, Mr Speaker. Because, Mr Speaker, and I think I have the, based on what the guarantee is, NLA will be paying something like $3,571,993 by annually, about $7 million a year, and we are providing them with $181,333. So it's a concern and I'm sure you can well appreciate my concern. So I do await clarification. And Mr Speaker, since I'm on sports facilities, I turn your attention to page 659, Mr Speaker. 659, head 56, line 0528, rehabilitation of the George Audlum Stadium, and estimated project costs, total costs, $2,500,000. And the government intends to raise bonds to rehabilitate the George Audlum Stadium. Again, Mr Deputy Speaker, you can imagine my eyebrow being raised because we're aware that we did receive a loan from the Saudis for $200 million, part of which would have gone to, the member would explain to me when he rebuts. But it is a concern that $2.5 million would be allocated and would be raised by bonds when we just, you know, because what to me, Mr Speaker, the question is, you know, how much would go to St. Jude's and how much to George Audlum Stadium? Mr Speaker, I move quickly to, you know, Mr Speaker, I think I should also mention that I also identified, I also identified that one of the funding sources for our rehabilitation of sports facilities, page 666, what a number, page 666, line 54, 666, rehabilitation of sports facilities from the Republic of China and Taiwan, we're getting $1,850,000, Mr Speaker. I am wondering, you know, Mr Speaker, considering that significant amount that we were supposed to be getting from the NLA of $80 million, that, you know, that would have taken care of a significant portion of our playing fields, island-wide, as the deputy speaker, well, as a parliamentary rep for Newport South, indicated ways, Newportshire. And I was pleased to see that you'd be getting an entertainment center, the member for Newport South, and I am not sure if that is related to a sporting facility or something else, Mr Speaker. But, Mr Speaker, my concern is, in addition to the $80 million, we have another $1.8 million, and I'm really hoping that the member for Grozile would address the issue of the lights on the La Fag playing field with all of that money that is receiving, Mr Speaker, and also to address some of the challenges that the sportsmen and women face from some of our fields, Mr Speaker. So, Mr Speaker, I want to speak on community intervention. Mr Speaker, I have always boasted that the community of Grozile Saltibus by far is the most pristine community in St. Lucia. In recent times, I've heard the member for Barbolo and the member for Soufret try to take that position. But we know Mr Speaker, and I have also said that many men and women around this table have strong roots in the community of Grozile Saltibus, so I'm sure they will jealously guard that position that I'm taking, Mr Speaker. So, Mr Speaker, I note in the community there is an uptake of ABNB, and we will speak a lot more to that when we discuss policy, Mr Speaker. But I raise that because from a community tourism perspective, Mr Speaker, I would really like to see the intervention from the ministry in doing various things in the communities, quite a bit of money going into community tourism, and maybe it's not sure Zell Saltibus turned yet, Mr Speaker, but we need to what they say, Mr Speaker, strike while the iron is hot. And, Mr Speaker, I am really looking for our fair share. The member for January North, Mr Speaker, makes it a point that almost every parliamentary sitting to speak to the fact that he did not get a bag of cement to do any work in his constituency. And he has every right, Mr Speaker, as a parliamentary Speaker, to speak to that, Mr Speaker. But as I said, Mr Speaker, yes, no, but in particular, the member for January North has been very, very loud. And even now in government, he still goes back there. You know, Mr Speaker? Yeah. So, Mr Speaker, as I have said to the member for January North, what is wrong is wrong. And the six members opposite at the time, the six members who were in opposition at the time, they all agreed on one thing, that it was wrong. They all agreed that it was wrong, Mr Speaker. And if it is wrong, but you know, and I was just telling the member for Meekood North, Mr Speaker, all of us, all of us in this, as a member of cabinet, have signed what is a code of secrecy. Nobody knows what's happened in the chambers of cabinet. Nobody. Because when we come here, Mr Speaker, we are all one. And I will not believe, I will never believe, Mr Speaker, that members on the opposite side do not have the fight with the Prime Minister on various issues. But you'll never come here and talk about it. You'll never come here and talk about it, Mr Speaker. So, Mr Speaker, so, Mr Speaker, unfortunately, unfortunately, unfortunately, Mr Speaker, matters of cabinet happen to be linked. Unfortunately. But that's for another show, Mr Speaker. So, Mr Speaker, I am getting, I am getting a cacada. I am getting a cacada. And, Mr Speaker, I am making most, the most of the cacada that I'm getting. So, Mr Speaker, in collaboration with the Ministry of Infrastructure, because I always, I always try to incorporate the relevant authorities in any work that I do. And in collaboration with the Ministry of Infrastructure. Member for Schoesel, you have 15 minutes left. Well, I'll be finished with it at the time, Mr Speaker. Say that again. Remember? Even my time, the member wants to take it. Mr Speaker. And so, under the CDB, Mr Speaker, I have identified two particular areas where we have seen quite a bit of vehicles falling into what is considered to be very steep gutters, Mr Speaker. And so, in slabbing these drains, Mr Speaker, we have widened the road, okay, and the residents who have had to wake up at all hours of the night to save people from that, Mr Speaker. Thankfully, Mr Speaker, we've been able to resolve that problem. I'm also very grateful, Mr Speaker, and give thanks in all things. Give thanks in all things, Mr Speaker. I'm not a hypocrite, you know, as one thing, not a hypocrite. I'll give thanks, Mr Speaker, because the Prime Minister made an adjustment that a portion of that CDP could have gone to social services, Mr Speaker. And I can tell you, Mr Speaker, in my community, the issue of medical assistance is huge. It's big, Mr Speaker. It is, it is, you know, Mr Speaker and Mr Speaker. And Mr Speaker, I feel for you, you know, I feel for you. I feel for you. I feel for you. If I didn't feel for you, I would have taken, I would have tackled you a different way. Okay, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, and I can tell you, Mr Speaker, and I notice allocations for the beginning of the whole universal healthcare thrust, Mr Speaker. And I'm really looking forward to, you know, under the last administration, we kick-started this, Mr Speaker. And I'm really hoping that you can see it accelerated, because, you know, I think too many of our people are dying from the lack of, or the inability, Mr Speaker, to obtain, you know, relevant care at our various medical facilities and also private practice, because our medical facilities cannot provide all of the, you know, services that are needed. Mr Speaker, I will also admit that there's been some input to assisting people who live in extremely deplorable situations in the community. And people are extremely grateful for that, Mr Speaker. And I want to thank the government, you know, for that assistance, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, there's a lot more to be said on my community. And I can assure you, when we come to debate in the appropriation bill, a lot more will be said as it relates to interventions in my community. But to close off, Mr Speaker, if I look across the road, I notice the member for the number of little books. And I'm wondering if you could assist me, Mr Speaker, by giving me two of them, Mr Speaker. So, Mr Speaker, that being said, I thank you. I thank you for your indulgence. Thank you.