Thank you, Mr. Chair. I also want to thank you for looking to give me the floor earlier when it wasn't my turn. One day, you never know, I may be second to speak.
Thank you to the witnesses for being here.
What the witnesses are telling us is interesting. When we in the Bloc Québécois talk about sovereignty or handing certain powers back to the provinces, people sometimes look at us a little baffled, as if we weren't seeing straight. What I'm hearing today is that, in actual fact, there's duplication in what the federal and provincial governments do, and that can sometimes undermine key structure-building development. They seem to think that, on their own, the provinces can't make decisions and equip themselves with organizations, tools and levers to do the right thing for the environment while also enabling development, whatever that may be.
Therefore, here's my question: Is the federal government actually taking up too much space in this duplication of red tape? Couldn't the Fisheries Act provide for the federal government withdrawing to some extent so the provinces can get a foothold or greater control over their own environment, their own territory and their own development? In Quebec, we have the Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement, or BAPE, that does this kind of work, so sometimes we can keep the federal government from jumping with both feet into our business. Sometimes we can't, but sometimes we can.
What do you think about this, Mr. Jackson and Ms. Lindsay?