I'll jump in.
Having done regulatory in the region for several years for several communities, I think it's essential that the communities are at the table with the regulator.
One thing that disturbed me most about this incident.... I will reiterate that Imperial approved a full technical joint review and some on-site monitoring. We were allowed on site, and I think they've been very transparent. The one thing that interests me is there was a round of what is called supplemental information requests, which the regulatory body sends out as it's attempting to get more information on an issue. That was the one thing we weren't provided. The response from Imperial was that the AER did not want to release it. I said that's ridiculous because I can pay $25 for an FOIP request and see it publicly. There isn't trust with the regulator. We've said, as multiple communities have said, that this regulator is regulatory-captured.
The other concerning comment they made when we met with them was that.... This is more to your question. Communities have been engaged in regulatory processes for years as they've stood up their own regulatory bodies and entities to address this. What is concerning us most is that those submissions aren't being heard or considered. We've been doing tailings submissions and reviews on all the tailings reports. Each of these industries has been doing this annually for several years now. When the AER spoke with us, it advised us that it had never seen those. Given how the reviews we are doing are getting conveyed and the lack of transparency, I think it's important to hear it right from the communities' mouths, because we are engaged and we are responding to that.
In terms of capacity, I think there is capacity in the community to do that, but certainly the funding and the resources to be a part of it is always welcome. We're always very limited. There are entire departments at the regulator and the Alberta consultation office—federal and provincial—and we're usually small departments trying to address multiple issues at any given time.