Thanks, Mr. Chair.
There was some discussion a little bit earlier about this corporate social responsibility strategy the government launched in March. Just for clarification, there are many facets of it, but one was the creation of a new Office of the Extractive Sector Corporate Social Responsibility Counsellor. That's a long title. It may not have been the title Mr. McKay wanted to put forward in his bill, but the role will be to assist in resolving social and environmental issues related to Canadian companies operating abroad. And, of course, there was also the establishment of a new centre of excellence as a one-stop shop for NGOs, companies, and others.
In that vein, I'm thinking about responsible mining practices. I think the world is demanding evidence and action on responsibility when it comes to the environment, and not just greenhouse gases, but other things. I'm interested in knowing what your organization is doing—probably this question is directed more toward Mr. Stothart—in the area of protecting Canada's reputation as it relates to that, both in terms of actions, obviously the most important piece, but also communicating those actions.
Recently we saw in a National Geographic article on the oil sands, a before-and-after portrayal of the land use, having to do with the oil sands. But what they didn't show in that article was the after, the reclamation of the land. As you're driving through into the area where the oil sands are developed, you drive through a place that looks totally undeveloped, a place where you would anticipate development. What you don't know is that it was already developed, reclaimed, and it looks as it looked before all the work was done. That wasn't portrayed, and I think that's important.
In addition to the action that's needed, which I want to hear about, I also want to hear about the communication plan for those actions so that we can make sure incorrect information isn't being sent around.