Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to our witness for appearing here.
We've heard from municipalities on the study we're doing. We've heard from provinces and territories. Though we may not have heard the testimony at the committee, many of us have heard from the farming community. In our own communities we've heard from neighbourhood groups looking to build pathways and increase the livability of their communities. We've heard from a broad range of people, and now we have your testimony today.
The overwhelming weight of the testimony is that the act needs to be changed, it needs to be modernized. You may be sensing some of the committee's skepticism about your testimony today. That's because the overwhelming weight of what we're hearing is that the act itself doesn't function properly; that the act should function to protect navigation; that it's not necessarily an environmental piece of legislation; and that we may have other environmental protections, both within federal legislation and at different levels of government, that would cover off those particular issues. Your testimony today is taking a much different perspective.
I'm reading the brief that was submitted to the committee--your executive summary and comments--and if I'm understanding your brief correctly, you essentially want to leave the act the way it is, except for making the enforcement provisions stronger and tougher. Am I understanding your brief correctly?