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Mr. Perron, I'm looking at page 18 of the Auditor General's report, exhibit 4.3. That's a chart, and there's something I don't understand on the chart.

In terms of pre-authorization of non-medical escorts, in all circumstances that occurred, in Manitoba 18 of 18, in Ontario 14 of 14, I'm confused as to how there could be a pre-authorization of non-medical escorts without even knowing that medical transportation was required. I want to understand that pre-authorization.

In that particular case, all 50 requests, can we assume that all of the individuals were registered in Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada's Indian registration system, as well as Health Canada's status verification system?

With respect to registration, does anybody get turned down if they're in a dire medical situation and they need transportation and they're not registered? Do they get that transportation?

Then why isn't registration mandatory?

You talked in your opening statements about I think it was $300 million that was appointed for transportation services. What portion of that is for medevac access? Can you talk a little about the medevac access program that's in place for remote reserves?

That's fine.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I don't have any questions, Chair.

With two minutes left, I'll defer to Mr. Hawn.

A voice: If you want to start, you go ahead.

Mr. Bryan Hayes: Sure, Mr. Lemieux.

I live in a border community, Sault Ste. Marie. We have an international bridge connecting us with the United States. We're currently undergoing the rebuild of our Canada Customs plaza. It's a $50 million project. It's quite exciting for Sault Ste. Marie. I believe that was all part of the beyond the border initiative that was announced in 2011 by Prime Minister Harper and President Obama.

Can you give me an update, in layman's terms, on the beyond the border initiative? Give me a sense of what IT project is most significant with respect to a border community such as Sault Ste. Marie. Also, does the beyond the border initiative have an end date, or does it go on forever? I want to get a sense of this whole initiative and where we are, so I can speak intelligently to my constituents.

Is it safe to say that different border crossings are at different levels of maturity within the beyond the border plan?

In paragraph 5.20 of the Auditor General's report, he mentioned what's called the project management framework and then he talked about the service life cycle management framework. If I'm reading that correctly, it seems as though there was a change from one framework to the other. The reason for that change was to ensure that project prerequisites were met prior to moving on to the next phase, because the AG identified that as being an issue.

Can you explain a little about the service life cycle management framework? Has that addressed this concern with project prerequisites being met? Are they now being met? Can we say that with confidence?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm glad you really clarified that it is respite. This is the second time Mr. Valeriote has heard that, and guaranteed he'll be asking the same questions later on to try to get an answer that appeases him. But the reality is that the respite is over 30 days, that's $240 a day.

I look at my particular case, my mother, who is aware of this clause. My father has passed away, but my mother was a caregiver. What she needed at that time was respite so she could have used that money to hire a private caregiver during that time to give her peace of mind because it's gruelling as a family member.

Based on that, I believe that this family caregiver benefit is intended and brought forward for that purpose. Would you agree?

Okay, so perhaps we need a change in terminology.

Mr. Mac Culloch, do you have any comments on that?

Understood. Would you give me a sense of, in your opinion, how many people you feel will be able to use this family caregiver benefit? We heard from the legion earlier that most families today are dual-income families, so I'm going to ask the legion the same question. How many military families are dual-income families who this wouldn't apply to? I just want to get a sense of how many people would use this benefit.

How's my time, Mr. Chair?

Perfect.

Can you give me a sense of how you intend to communicate the positive items included within the bill to your members? You've all indicated that you want it to pass quickly. I'm concerned that the right messages aren't going to get out there when I hear Mr. Chicoine saying that the ombudsman said they're half-hearted measures. Well, they're not half-hearted measures. There are some very good things here, and you're encouraging quick passage. How are you going to relay that message to your membership, the positive impacts of this bill?