Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I'd like to start by thanking the committee for providing the Sierra Club with an opportunity to put some of our views on the Environmental Assessment Act on the table. I had hoped to present with our volunteer president, Paula Boutis, who is an environmental lawyer, but she's in court today. She sends her apologies.
I'd like to address basically three issues today with respect to the act. They are the campaign to marginalize and silence voices of the environment in Canada—