I too am a visiting body to this committee, so thank you for having me.
My questions are for Mr. Bloom.
I was very fortunate, when I was first elected, to be on the transport committee, in which we had the discussion, first of all, about the extension of the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act. Then two years ago at the foreign affairs committee, Mr. Bloom, you were one of our witnesses in our investigation into Canada's policy for the Arctic. We submitted that report to the House in May 2013, just at the time that Canada was taking the chair of the Arctic Council.
I refer to your remarks in committee, from a quotation that is actually in the report, which says:
[The] scale of resource development in this region is reaching unprecedented levels. World demand and commodity prices have brought global attention to the north's rich supply of minerals, metals, oil, and gas. Emerging markets around the world provide Canada with an opportunity to responsibly develop our natural resources for the benefit of all Canadians.
Then you talked later on about some 21 resource and regional infrastructure projects that were at various stages of the regulatory process in Canada's north. You talked about a further eight projects that are “set to potentially enter the environmental assessment phase in the coming 18 months”.
With the changing complexions of the north, we heard from academic institutions, the private sector, environmental interests, government actors in the north, all of the actors.
Could you give the committee an update on some of the processes that are under way? What point are these projects at? How are they changing the face of the north? Are we doing a good job?
It's a lot to answer. I'm sorry.