Absolutely not. My mind is made up and our government's mind is made up, based on a commitment we made in the campaign and based on a platform on which we won a majority government—including 17 seats in your great province, Mr. Hardie, which made us very happy on election night.
Restoring lost protections is a commitment we hope and intend to honour. It's a legislative commitment, so obviously we need the support of parliamentarians, both in our House and next door in the Senate. I'm not naive as to the legislative process. However, I also come here with an open mind, and that's why I value so much the work you're going to do and other ways that Canadians can share their ideas, because we, I hope, can in 2017 arrive at a modern, responsible, and balanced way to protect fish and fish habitat, which Canadians care so deeply about.
I'm wide open to the suggestions your committee and other people will have as to how we can best do that. I'm also wide open to working collaboratively with you, once we get a bill that we present to the House and send through the normal parliamentary process for improvements.