Mr. Chair, I'll just reiterate. Junior mining companies, as well as the larger ones.... First of all, many large mining companies do not do exploration. They actually purchase prepackaged sites from the juniors. That's how it works. Second of all, provinces like British Columbia heavily regulate how these companies act. A big part of British Columbia is under federal crown lands, reserves, and whatnot. There are specific requirements for them to work with first nations when they are looking, and a big part is demonstrating that they are going to be very diligent in how they do their exploration.
A lot of it now is done with drone technology and is based on magnets and whatnot, as well as site checks. In the old days, absolutely, site checks would happen, large strips of land. The industry has changed enormously over the past 10 years. If you looked 30 years ago, perhaps you might see some of those things. But in British Columbia, whether it be sustainably harvesting trees or putting forward mining projects, they are doing their due diligence and making sure harm isn't done.
Unfortunately, this may not be the proper venue, Mr. Chair, but I really wanted to raise those points. There are issues with how the financing of these companies is done, but the withdrawal of a tax credit like this would be extremely damaging to the industry overall, which is why I think they have continued to support this, even with a change of government. This tax credit is not a major component, but it does help a struggling industry.
Thank you.