Mr. Speaker, the minister talks about co-operation, consultation, the frontline soldiers and how much he wants to listen to them. Yet the government uses closure, which is what we are debating right now. It includes things like due diligence in the legislation where people would be guilty even if they did not know it was an endangered habitat or an endangered species.
Why would the minister not have considered mens rea where people would have to show intent that they wanted to destroy habitat or that they wanted to destroy an endangered species. We would agree then that the book should be thrown at people who did that. However the minister has chosen not to do that and instead has chosen to use due diligence where the government will again go after farmers, ranchers and the guy on the ground, the little people.