Thank you.
Thank you to the witnesses for being here. I appreciate your dedication and your passion for the environment.
I would like to focus on socio-economic factors as critical habitat is being identified, and also on how that plays into sustainable development. It is a very important part of sustainable development that you provide for the needs of the present, of this generation, without compromising the needs of future generations.
So it is the environment. It is the economy. It is society. All the factors have to be in play.
What we heard as a committee is that socio-economic considerations are not considered when a species is identified as at risk. They are when it is with the minister and Governor in Council, but again, they are not considered when habitat is being identified. This is what we heard from the department; it may not be what I think I have heard from some of you today.
I've also met with some of you in my office and have met with industry and have heard that there were negotiations ongoing on with industry and ENGOs to find out whether there was a position whereby the two groups could meet and come up with a practical solution.
I am going to ask you, Rachel, because you are one of the people I met with and you mentioned that you were going to be meeting with industry, if the ENGOs and the industry have had a chance to come up with a compromise or a position where it protects the environment but also provides for the needs.