Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to thank both of our witnesses today.
I want to start off with you, Mr. Stevenson, by referencing a Harvard study on mining that was just released. Although it doesn't apply to your area—it deals specifically with the Takla first nations in northern British Columbia—I think some of the recommendations from that study are probably relevant to the north.
Just broadly, the study indicated that first nations “bear an unfair burden at every point in the mining process, from the registration of claims to exploration, production, and abandonment of closed sites”, and that “urgent law reform is needed to shift at least some of this burden onto government and industry”.
I can't, obviously, in the short time I have available, deal with all the recommendations, but I want to focus in on the equity in revenue sharing, because that's one point that you raised in your presentation.
One of their recommendations to governments and key stakeholders is that they need to develop revenue-sharing plans and provide training and job opportunities for first nations. The recommendation talks about the fact that mostly what we see is employment agreements, which are simply trickle-down effects for the communities. It says:
This situation is particularly problematic because the revenue is derived from the natural resources found on traditional First Nation lands and comes at the expense of harm to those lands. Mining companies can improve upon this situation by sharing their revenue from mineral development with affected First Nations.
I'll come to the training when I talk to Mr. Connell, but could you give us more detail about what you would like to see in terms of revenue sharing or equity in these proposed mines?