Thank you.
Thank you, Charlie, for the opportunity to clarify. I appreciate it because, make no mistake, I deeply respect every single one of them—just to be clear. I apologize if any of them took offence for the way I referred to them.
What is obvious is this: Experts here have laid plain that it is government uncertainty, government interference and government's changing the goalposts that make it so the private sector can't build projects. It stops them with gatekeepers, changing goalposts, uncertainty and new conditions. Over these entire nine years, this government has deliberately, in every way.... To be clear, this is a travesty, and it is heartbreaking. It is a real human issue because it has hurt people and communities over nine years. It is government interference and uncertainty. This is deliberate. It is obvious this has been deliberate for nine years. Like, the jig's up here. I think it's obvious. It ought to be obvious.
The truth is that these witnesses ought to be listened to. They don't just speak here. They are available. They have been out there. They are experts. They've been doing this work. They've been offering this advice. They've been making these statements for nine years. The truth is that the current Prime Minister and these ministers don't care. That's actually the truth. They don't want to hear. That's why they're suddenly pretending they now want to hear from these witnesses, who are speaking the truth. That's why they're pretending the only place they can hear from them is in this committee, where we pretend that five minutes allows them sufficient time to make the complex and crucial points they need to make.
This anti-energy, anti-private sector, anti-resource development and, frankly, anti-Canada government, which has been in place for nine years, is the problem. These experts just pointed that out and they've been saying it. The truth is that the official opposition, Canada's Conservatives, have also been saying it non-stop for 10 years. I have no doubt that all the witnesses here, even if they have different perspectives, have already said how important this issue is.
Thanks for that.
After nine years, this is the truth. The current government has betrayed and sold out Canadians.