Thank you, Chair.
Thank you for your opening comments. One thing you mentioned in your opening comments is that there currently exists no protections for first nations water and regulations. This is something that first nations have had to deal with across Canada for generations. This is an important piece of legislation.
I have two questions on this. We have seen many times where industry has been a bad actor and has not always looked out for the best interest of their neighbours in indigenous communities, which has led to contamination and poisoning of the water. I know that we're going to hear testimony on this, but one of the sites in Nova Scotia, Pictou Landing, for more than four decades had their water poisoned by a lumber mill close by.
I'm wondering two things. One, how is this legislation going to protect first nations drinking water from pollution, from contamination? Two, what is the provincial role in this to ensure they're working collaboratively with the federal government? It was the provincial government who allowed the polluting of this community in Nova Scotia for many years. I'm wondering if you could speak a little bit about what this legislation does to protect that and how we can ensure that provincial governments follow suit.