Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thanks to both of our witnesses for being here today.
Alika, I appreciate your being here. I'm sure that things in Grand Prairie are very busy right now as you help people from Fort McMurray, so I appreciate your fitting us in today, especially with your role in the Indigenous Health Alliance.
I want to start with you, Monica. You might be able to finish answering some of your questions.
I read an article in the Vancouver Sun that you co-authored. It may have been in other places. I wanted to quote this:
When power projects that are needed for system efficiency and stability are delayed or cancelled, the power system on which we rely is put at risk. When export-oriented projects are subjected to years of regulatory processes, market opportunities pass us by.
Today we're talking about additional regulations, an additional review process, and additional consultations. I think one of the messages we have to get from this is that we will never reach consensus and that, sooner or later, someone is going to have to step up and take a leadership role. Someone is going to have to step up and say that a project has gone through the regulatory regime, it has gone through the review processes that are in place, and we can no longer consult, so either this is good for Canada or it's not good for Canada. We have to make a decision.
I would like you to expand a little on that and the risks that we may be taking on some of these key projects if we continue to delay.