Sorry, Madam Chair, I think I'm going to start with one quick question and share my time.
Thank you, Minister, for being here.
I was part of the transport committee that studied this—not at your direction, but perhaps at your invitation—and one of the things that I felt very strongly about during the last campaign was some of the changes that were made without sufficient parliamentary oversight in 2012, and 2008 before that.
One of the things we learned when we exercised some kind of a parliamentary function on this specific issue was that in fact the move towards a scheduled waterway had some benefits, but also some significant drawbacks in my opinion.
For example, drainage ditches that were filled seasonally could perhaps be captured when they may not need to be, but on the flip side many lakes and rivers that previously had protection were no longer protected, although there was a common-law right to navigation. There was no effective way for a citizen to have that right protected.
In particular, to go back to the example that one of my Conservative colleagues was seeking, I remember distinctly a witness from the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters complaining that certain companies trying to build zip lines across rivers were preventing members of their association from enjoying the benefits of nature that they so frequently use.
I'm curious how this legislation is going to ensure that those seasonal drainage ditches don't attract scrutiny, but that the lakes and rivers that the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters were seeking to have protected still remain protected.