I think we've heard a lot today about competitiveness. I think we're beyond the point where Canada and Canadian companies will be competing on their technical expertise. I think technical expertise exists in many countries around the world.
What is going to distinguish us when a government in another nation is trying to decide who will help them in developing their mineral resources? I think it's having a robust framework that says we are a country that has human rights standards and environmental standards and that they apply to our companies when they operate abroad. If Canada is in competition with others in order to build the mines of tomorrow, this has to be part of our competitive advantage.
What's missing right now is that we don't have that comprehensive framework in Canada that would allow us to go around the world and say that our companies will operate responsibly. That could become our calling card if we were to introduce a comprehensive framework that applies to every Canadian company.
With voluntary systems, as Ms. Coumans correctly pointed out, companies can pick and choose whether they pick up the e3 Plus system of the PDAC or not. Some may and some may not. We don't know how many are implementing that system. It's not clear to me, because it's completely voluntary.
What we need to do is raise the bar for all companies, and I think that can become our calling card internationally and make host communities have more confidence with the companies they're relating with. Today, when you meet people from a host community, they speak to people from other communities who've hosted a Canadian mine, and there are horror stories they hear. They hear about all of these atrocities and these abuses. Why would a community invite us in to develop their mineral resources with this sort of track record?