With respect to the environmental assessment review, Cameco is part of the Canadian Nuclear Association as well as the Mining Association of Canada. We have direct representation on the multi-interest advisory committee, which is providing advice to the expert panel on the EA review, so we have been directly engaged in that process.
The timelines are extremely tight; there's no doubt about that. But we have been engaged at the multi-interest advisory committee table, and with the expert panel as it goes across the country hearing from witnesses. We made presentations in Saskatoon, I believe, last week, and some of our indigenous community leaders were involved in that process. The process is certainly under way.
I will echo what I said earlier in that we would support any changes to the EA process that focus on the use of scientific evidence for decision-making and certainty in terms of process, timing, and the type of research that is required to make decisions.
In terms of what we can do to ensure investment certainty, as Mr. Beaty said, there are certain things governments can do and certain things they cannot do. Investor certainty is something we need to do as a company.
Our Millennium mine in northern Saskatchewan is an example. Using the evidence that was available at the time, it was determined that there were no environmental impact issues where our Millennium mine site would be. Environment Canada decided that there could, in fact, be issues down the road based on research that may be conducted in the future. As a result of that idea that there could be environmental impacts in the future, they were not prepared to give us a no adverse impacts ruling that would allow our mine to proceed.
What Environment Canada told us was that we could go ahead and build our Millennium mine, but they reserved the right to come back years down the road, looking at future evidence, and potentially impose operating conditions on our mine site. Not surprisingly, given our responsibility to shareholders and our capital investments, those were not conditions under which we could build a mine. The idea that we would build it, and then at some future date there would be conditions imposed on how we might operate that mine, made it extremely challenging.
As a result of that uncertainty, that $2-billion mine project in northern Saskatchewan that would have employed somewhere in the neighbourhood of 300 people, along with opportunities for other indigenous business, did not go ahead. And you know how capital investment works. It's not as if we're holding on to that money and waiting for the right time. That capital was deployed elsewhere in our operations around the world.
It is that type of uncertainty we're trying to deal with. The scientific evidence was there. I won't say it was ignored, but there were other options that were considered that made the decision one where we could not proceed.