Mr. Speaker, those who represent resource-based regions have certainly seen the huge downturn in the commodity cycle. We are seeing layoffs and mine closures. There are people who travel to work in the gas fields and we want to make sure that we have an economy that makes sense, that is balanced the issues of the environment. The previous government's support to maintain that balance was certainly out of whack.
I want to ask my hon. colleague about the following. One of the concerns I am hearing from the people I work with in the mineral sector is that they want good, clear environmental policies so that they can build trust in first nation communities and develop, but they also want to know if the government will maintain the mineral exploration tax credit, which is so important for maintaining prospecting and finding the next generation of mines, because aging mines are closing now.
Can we get a balance between good, clear environmental direction, but also maintain the support that we need for the resource economy in our regions?