I would be happy to come back to some of those contextual elements in the discussion afterwards.
If I had to pinpoint some key issues that I think the commission should be concerned about in the weeks, months, and years to come, one that is actually important and that many of my colleagues and the population of Quebec feel concerned about is the question of control of mineral resources property.
There is also the question of extraction and benefits, so more and more, the collective ownership of those resources is becoming a concern. I think Quebec is not alone in this situation.
The Canada-European agreement that is currently being negotiated, I think, could have serious and significant impacts on that particular issue. I think of the recent situation in Saskatchewan with PotashCorp, where the federal government, along with the provincial government, agreed on protecting Canadian interests from a foreign takeover. One wonders if this current Canada-European agreement would allow such a move that was necessary in the case of Saskatchewan's PotashCorp.
The second issue, quickly, which I mentioned earlier, is the necessity to better protect the environment in light of a massive mining boom. The billion dollars that I talked to you about, both in the investments that we are witnessing but also in value extracted, in our opinion also necessitated parallel curves that we should see in the ministries responsible for controlling the mining, exploration, and extraction. Here in the environment, abandoned mining sites are also a concern to many citizens. We need to understand that restoring abandoned mining sites also brings economic activity to regions, so it's not just a question of restoring the environment. It could also be seen as a potentially important economic benefit to the regions that do the work.
Lastly, as I mentioned, first nations issues need to be dealt with. Here, with the “Plan Nord” of Premier Charest, we often hear that first nations all agree with the Plan Nord, but what we don't often hear is that there are some first nations, such as the Innu first nations, who are still struggling with their traditional entitled rights. These should be settled, creating a more stable climate both for communities and the investors.
I will conclude here and open the floor for discussion later. Thank you.