Thank you, Chair.
Thank you, witnesses, for being here. It is very interesting to hear a real, practical industrial perspective on the impact of SARA and about some of your challenges and recommendations.
The importance of certainty within the industry to see investments in technologies that are using renewable fuels and hydroelectric was touched upon. We've just come back from a study in the oil sands. We went to Fort Chipewyan, and there was a major focus on the oil sands being a cause of a lot of the issues they're dealing with. We're continuing that study next week. One of the issues was water levels in Fort Chipewyan. Some were focused on the oil sands as the cause. As we heard from more witnesses, it became convincing to me that the W.A.C. Bennett Dam may have been one of the major causes of changes affecting the levels. Hydroelectric projects can have consequences that may not be evident until years later.
For the duration, the consultation is where I'd like to focus my questioning.
Madam Paulus, you commented on the importance of consultation with industry. We are looking at recovery strategies and at very prescriptive timelines. Because of those tight timelines, often the people on the front line--industry--are not being consulted in an adequate way. We consult science, we consult the aboriginal communities, but I think I heard you say that we're not consulting you on the front lines--industry--which is creating uncertainty.
As we want to move to cleaner, better technologies, that means investments. How important is the consultation process, and how important is it that SARA have realistic timelines? That seems to be a common complaint as we're doing this legislative review. How important are those timelines, and how important is it to consult you?