Mr. Speaker, I have two points for my colleague opposite. I think he is failing to remember the countless amendments and filibusters by the opposition during the introduction of this bill. There is always a reason something dies on the order paper, and certainly I hope he would agree with me that filibustering an important bill like that was something he omitted from the history of the passage of those bills. It was certainly detrimental to its passage.
With regard to northern mines, obviously Canada's north is blessed with an abundance of wealth and natural resources, but it is also one of the most sensitive ecological areas in our country and indeed in the world. I absolutely agree with him that when developing these resources, the utmost environmental standards need to be reviewed and applied to the development of these situations. It is not just on the front end, on the review of these projects, but also through abandonment and risk planning.
The important point to note in the commissioner for the environment quote, which I mentioned earlier, is that we are focused on closing any gaps that exist, and he recognized that.