Mr. Speaker, frankly, what I would be looking for as an environmental lawyer would be clarification imposed in law. The problem is that, yes, there is a listing of activities, but then there is a wide open bucket of things that could occur, which is called “low-impact activities”.
The one provision of greatest concern is “petroleum exploration activities with a low impact on the environment”. What is that? If one talked to the oil and gas industry, many of them would say that there is absolutely no impact, because they manage x, y and z safely.
Given how small and sensitive this area is, there is a need for a very specific definition to give assurance to everyone into the future. As to what legal mechanism we can come up with, I look forward to the innovative ideas of the Government of Canada.