Thank you, Madam Chair.
I just want to say to Mr. Brooks that I take offence to companies that have licencing agreements and it takes them years to get going.
I'm going to tell you that in my province, BHP Billiton has spent nearly $4 billion on a mine that has yet to produce in the community of Jansen. This could take five years. It could take longer. They had their annual meeting this past week. Companies have invested billions of dollars and the fact that the date set for the current mine or project isn't going to be met doesn't mean they don't care about it. Your reference is a little disturbing up north.
I have the same thing in my province. BHP is an Australian firm; you know it. It's the biggest miner in the world. They have sunk $4 billion into my province. They probably want it up this year. It probably isn't going to produce until 2026—whatever. The fact that legislation says they should be up doesn't mean they haven't done their due diligence and spent billions of dollars.
I want you to comment on that, because in my province it's a heated discussion right now. This company from Australia has pumped $4 billion into our province in the past seven to eight years.