In the world of incidents that have occurred, and incidents that we've seen and behaviour that we've seen, there's nothing to suggest that companies will not behave in the way that we expect them to or that they financially can't.
I think it's reasonable to say that it's unlikely, but in the event that it does occur—and it's in the minds of Canadians for sure, and we've heard it in discussions that we've had with different players—what will happen?
The bill provides a statute-based frame that allows the National Energy Board, an independent body that regulates the oil and gas pipeline industry in Canada federally, to make a determination that they don't believe a company is able to deal with the consequences because they may go bankrupt, or they're not behaving as rapidly or quickly as appropriate, and they make a recommendation to the Minister of Natural Resources.
The Minister of Natural Resources then seeks a cabinet decision, which is the democratic decision-making process around how the government operates, as to whether the company would then be designated as unresponsive or unreliable or unreasonable, however it might be, based on the circumstances that the board presents—the independent regulatory body. That then provides the Minister of Natural Resources with the ability to instruct the board to act.
Then the Minister of Natural Resources makes a recommendation, again based on information on the circumstances presented by the board, which is independent and has the expertise, that they believe it is going to be x dollars. It makes a recommendation to the Minister of Finance that says they believe it's going to be x dollars to clean this up, recognizing that the further authority in the act provides for the government to recover all of those costs.
Although there is a decision to be made by ministers who are accountable to Canadians about what the circumstances are and how they are present, I think we're talking about an event that's probably going to be very out of the ordinary, at best. That decision-making frame will provide the appropriate guidance to make that decision, and in doing so, it still protects Canadians and will ensure that polluters pay. The individual polluter in this circumstance, the company that isn't behaving properly, may not be the only party that pays. The industry more broadly might pay, but that would then be actually recovered by the government.