Protection of biodiversity is an important part of assuring overall sustainability of ecosystems. Of course, it's tremendously important. It really is at risk of being lost with the changes to the bill, just because there is going to be much less federal presence in the environmental assessment process. That means there will be much less federal science done in association with environmental assessments. That's one thing that doesn't get talked about very much. Considerable science is generated through environmental assessments that are done federally. People work on these things. It facilitates studies—sometimes by proponents and sometimes by governments. It generates information that proves to be tremendously useful. For example, we know a lot more about the ecology of the Mackenzie Valley because of the work that has gone back to the Berger inquiry, and subsequently a lot of science has been developed. Environmental assessments really assist the scientific. It's mutually reinforcing with ecological science.
On May 30th, 2012. See this statement in context.