Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Middleton, I'd like to continue on that line of questioning regarding the grandfathering of certain works. You've suggested that you'd like to see the removal of the requirement for approvals prior to undertaking repairs and reconstruction. I don't have any difficulty with the repairs, especially if they're cosmetic. There's reference to a railing being installed. That makes sense. That should be done without a formal approval process.
However, reconstruction is a different matter. I can imagine that, with today's design standards, if you were going to replace an existing structure such as a bridge, the footprint might not be the same any more, or the navigability characteristics might not be the same.
It seems to me that if the focus of the act right now is to make sure we protect navigation, and if in fact we intend to continue with that focus, why would we not have some kind of involvement by the government when it comes to reconstruction, especially if there's a change in the characteristics of that structure?