This initiative is at an early stage. There is lots of opportunity for interested parties to influence the decision-making process and to influence decisions, such as, for example, what the default commercial code will be within this zone. Even if Mauritius is the court of appeal, it need not be Mauritian law they're adjudicating when they're deciding a commercial dispute.
For a commercial code, there are a variety of different codes from around the world one could select from. I think the more interesting area is regulatory law. For example, if this is a place where you're going to offer opportunities for firms to make a profit by providing water, by providing power, by operating the airport, and by operating the seaport, there needs to be a body of regulatory law. The firms coming in need to know how their activities will be regulated. Using existing systems of law and processes will provide a lot of confidence for potential investors.
That's one area.
In the area of policing, I think this is not something that should be a charitable gift. The zone government should feel free to try to propose to the Mounties or to the Ontario Provincial Police an arrangement whereby they might contract with them for some staffing or some training to set up the policing in the early stages.
There is also a kind of governing board that will oversee the development of this zone in the early stages. I think it would be very interesting if anyone within either the government or the private sector were to suggest names from Canada, or names of people Canadians respect, who might sit on this kind of governing board. It will be very important in setting the tone and the standards in the early stages.
At many different levels, I think there are ways for the government to participate. It may be worth keeping in mind the example of the Supreme Court of Mauritius, because that strikes many people as novel at first. We're used to volunteer efforts and NGO efforts. This idea of one government kind of crossing a border and participating somehow with another frightens us, because it feels like colonialism. It feels like invasion. It sounds risky. But done right, it could be enormously beneficial.
I think we should open our minds to voluntary arrangements of this kind that could be undertaken. I can assure you that any expression of interest from the Canadian government would be warmly received by the Honduran government.