Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
My concerns about this go back almost 12 years. We've been seized with this at the committee on three separate occasions, I think. I was seized with it at the industry committee twice. There were private members' bills in the past. I'm certain you're familiar with those. I sympathize with the people on the ground who feel victimized. I sympathize with the Mining Association. It appears to me, from your testimony and all that I've heard, that you're trying to do the best you can to have your members participate in this sustainable mining program so the reputation is upheld and people understand that Canadian mines are doing all they can to make sure that not only are they socially responsible but also environmentally responsible. They're doing the best they can to contribute to the communities they're investing in, while at the same time, making a profit and making sure that the countries at large benefit from that resource extraction as well.
There's another player now, the United Nations. We had Mr. Pesce as a witness. He mentioned that he noticed Canadian companies referenced the international social, economic, and environmental standards, but he said they weren't sufficiently implemented. He said, “Our finding is that you should push your standards up to put more emphasis on implementation and monitoring effective implementation.”
Would you agree that some work still needs to be done as far as implementing and measuring the responsibility on the ground are concerned? He didn't mention TSM so I don't know if he was talking about that. He did mention interviews that he had back in June in Canada, I believe.