It's member Bateman. Thank you for that question.
In response, I have conducted National Energy Board hearings for the past six-plus years.
I have sat on the gateway hearing. In that regard, I have been required to be a thoughtful and a careful listener and to take significant amounts of evidence and information and to weigh it with my colleagues in a manner that is appropriate, that is lawful, and is reflective of the public interest. That experience cumulatively has given me the depth and the experience to identify the correct issues, to be able to gather the correct and needed information and evidence in order to go through the process of making a decision. It has required me to acquire a level of technical knowledge and expertise in the design, construction, and operation of a pipeline, to have the environmental expertise and the support, where needed, in order to make a proper analysis and ultimately, to take that information and to weigh it.
I believe my prior experience and my training as a lawyer allows me to objectively and neutrally weigh all of those factors, balance them in a way that will come to a conclusion, simply stated, to then ask the question: would Canada and Canadians be better off with this particular project or without it?
Thank you.