Thanks again, Mr. Chair.
I'm going to start with you, Mr. Gaudreault. Thank you for your service in the National Assembly.
I agree with your arguments that provinces are uniquely situated. They're local and they often have the enforcement capacity to immediately jump on cases of a violation of environmental laws. I agree with that.
In my former riding, though, on a first nation reserve, it turned out that someone was charged and taken to court for the illegal burning of some wood. I think British Columbia's provincial government was looking to collect $100,000 in fines. The court found that it was ultra vires: It was actually under federal jurisdiction because it was the Penticton Indian Band reserve, which is under the federal side. Also, by the way, the Indian Act actually says that the penalty would be around $250.
As much as that argument says to me that provinces should be able to enforce their laws, unfortunately there are just some cases where provincial laws don't align.
How would you address that, sir?