Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  No, I understand that. There are two answers to that question that I would focus on. First of all, the contribution is one aspect, but it's how you operate, which is another. That's at the core of our towards sustainable mining initiative, where we have put in place standards of good practice across a range of issues that matter at the local level, including how you involve local stakeholders in your projects, including how you protect biodiversity, including how you ensure your tailings facilities are managed safely, and including how you protect your workers.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  If we had a good review of the existing mechanisms and where the gaps are, we could probably land in a few different places. As I've spoken in my remarks, we've identified a tool called joint fact finding which arguably has been within the tool box for years but never used. We think it's a mechanism that, to Andrew's point, could be used in cases where conflicts are more advanced and more serious, but perhaps not quite at the stage where you need to engage the NCP.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  As the CSR counsellor is currently constituted, the office has neither the resources nor the mandate to provide those types of services. Nor, I think, does the current counsellor want to, or feel that he is the best person to do that. It's a different set of skills.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I think that if Canada wanted to provide additional options for remedy, this would be something it could do.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, for the opportunity to speak to you about this important topic. The Mining Association of Canada is the national organization for Canada's mining industry. Our members account for most of Canada's production of base and precious metals, uranium, diamonds, metallurgical coal, and mined oil sands, and are actively engaged in mineral exploration, mining, smelting, refining, and semi-fabrication across the country.

Transport committee  My understanding is that this bill does more closely align with the United States. What we're saying is that it's not adequate. The U.S. system was designed decades ago. There is the issue of the amount of data that's made available, because in the United States it's a sampling of data, it's not all data.

Transport committee  Brad, I think I'm going to ask you to take that one.

Transport committee  We can only assume the railways fought against it and that's why we have these exclusion zones. This attempt essentially maintains the C-30 provisions. Essentially there is a piece of Canada in the Prairies that could benefit from this, much as they did through Bill C-30. I think this has just found a different and more creative way of accomplishing the same thing.

Transport committee  It's both, and how they play out. It's changeable depending on the circumstances, depending on who you are, depending on the shipper. You could experience one or both, and it changes over time.

Transport committee  Joel gave an example in the forestry sector, which is the same experience in the mining sector. You expect a certain number of cars on a certain date and that number doesn't show up. We had one member who was told by the railways that they weren't going to serve them at all. On the service side, it can really vary.

Transport committee  I just want to emphasize the point I made at the outset, and which you've acknowledged. This is a very expensive process. The vast majority of those who use the railways can't get that or can't afford to do that. That's why the other measures we're all proposing, whether they deal with data or long-haul interswitching and so on, are so important.

Transport committee  Right, and this is one of them.

Transport committee  First of all, I would say that most can't get that far, but those who do actually go to arbitration, those who have the resources and the capacity to do so—

Transport committee  In the case of, for example, the Iron Ore Company of Canada, they own and operate their own railway. Obviously, that's how they manage.

Transport committee  Yes.