There are some strict criteria in terms of the level of impact. We can certainly get into a little bit of the criteria for each of them.
Essentially that's our trigger. We, as governments, can play a direct role as per the responsibilities ministers have, where they have a regulatory function and actually have to give an okay for something to proceed, or where we, as a federal department, are going to provide expertise, such as the kinds of scientific and other expertise we've talked about.
Yes, it is a complicated process, but we want to make sure that we get the balance between the economic, the environmental, and the social aspects right.
There are many times when the economy dictates how long the project will continue. These projects are highly capital intensive, and in many cases, they'll start in a particular cycle. They may have to put the projects on hold until their investors come back onboard. Typically—and I'm being very out there—a project may take about four or five years from the time they see the potential to the time of the permitting actually going ahead.
Now, Natural Resources Canada has taken on the lead role through the creation of something called the Major Projects Management Office. In the north, north of 60, there's an equivalent structure called the Northern Project Management Office, where they've set a target of halving that time.