Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Gentlemen, on that same subject—Mr. Kennedy brought up British Columbia land claims—it's a common assumption or understanding that over 110% of the land mass in British Columbia is under claim, because of the overlaps. To someone looking from the outside in, it would seem like an impossible situation, and at the end of the day perhaps it is.
What that means in the minds of some people is that the entire province of B.C., including downtown Vancouver, downtown Prince George, downtown Kelowna, is not crown land—whether it's municipal, provincial, or federal—but rather is owned by first nations. When I look at the word “conundrum”, I think of a perfect example, because there doesn't seem to be, first of all, any logic to the fact that this situation can happen. Secondly, there doesn't seem to be any way out.
I recall some land claims up in your area. I was involved in the Yukon land claims way back when, in the mid-nineties, and then the ones that were just south of the Yukon border in northern British Columbia. I can't remember the name of that particular area. Given the length of time it takes to sort those out, it seems like an impossibility. When you're talking about the exploration in the Arctic and you have the land claims, and then you couple that with the regulatory system, and then you couple that with the environment, and you couple that with, as you pointed out, people who appear to have their own agendas, it's a wonder we have anybody up there who's prepared to put in the investment in time and money to get the minerals out. I suppose if it weren't such a rich area for mineral exploration, there wouldn't be anyone up there.
I'm trying to think of a question here, but maybe you could just give me an assessment of some of the things that I've just brought up.
Talking about the length of time, it's no better in British Columbia. I have a mine in my riding. It's been 17 years and $100 million, and they just had another injunction thrown at them. So you wonder why they don't pack up their cash and head to another country; it's so much easier.
Anyway, could you give just an assessment?