First of all, Madam Chair, I want to thank the presenters for being here today and giving a sure perspective on this legislation.
In particular, I want to ask a couple of questions related to Newfoundland and Labrador's offshore oil and gas; some of the issues have been raised with me and my fellow MPs.
I'll ask these couple of questions, and then maybe CAPP in particular might be able to address some of these points.
One of the complaints that my fellow Newfoundland and Labrador MPs have heard consistently regarding the 2012 legislation is that the C-NLOPB was not properly recognized for its role in environmental assessment.
First, from your perspective does this new legislation meet the needs of your organization by ensuring that the C-NLOPB's expertise is recognized?
Second, in other jurisdictions like Norway and the North Sea, we're told the exploratory joint permits are much faster. Are you confident that this legislation will lead to a faster process in which the C-NLOPB, as life-cycle regulators, will have authority over smaller projects like exploratory wells, once CEPA has completed the strategic environmental assessment?