Mr. Chair, through you to Dr. Lewis, thank you for the question.
I certainly share your concern about fiscal responsibility and about understanding that Canadians, as you said, are feeling economic pressures in their family budgets and in their daily lives.
I think it's important, and perhaps the deputy can add some detail to what I think is a basic principle.... You're right, there has been an increase in the expenditures, but the grants and contributions that our department is putting out are, to a very considerable extent, investing with partner governments and community organizations. If it's a transit system.... A lot of this is cash flow on a big, ten-year transit project. In certain fiscal years, certain amounts of money will be available and that would be reflected, obviously, in these detailed estimates.
I think your concern—and I would share it—is that these expenditures have to be on projects that benefit Canadians and their communities, that fight climate change and that improve transit. A very small percentage of that expenditure, of course, would be administrative or overhead.
This is money put into community—