Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and thank you to our witnesses for being here today.
Certainly it's horrifying to hear the impacts that the lack of communication has had on your communities. Thank you for coming in and sharing that testimony with us.
Ms. Wells, you said something that shocked me deeply; perhaps it shouldn't. You spoke about the fact that you see the leadership, perhaps both federal and provincial, as being willing to sacrifice northeast Alberta. That's a shocking statement. On April 19 we heard further impacts from the Suncor mine that had just come through: Wildlife had been found dead.
Really, it seems to me that the trust within indigenous communities is broken and the process to go forward is insufficient and isn't working.
My first question is for both of our witnesses. I've written to the government and advocated on behalf of indigenous communities that indigenous communities be given the authority and the means to do their own environmental monitoring. I assume that the both of you would agree that this an important step.