Environment committee  According to Statistics Canada, we're the largest private sector employer of aboriginal people in the country and we're about twice the national average in terms of employing aboriginal people. I would then emphasize, though, that there is a lot more potential, and as we face the

Environment committee  I would agree with everything my colleague has just said. I would also clarify one other point that was raised before this committee before, as an example. There was the notion of having greenhouse gases become some kind of trigger in Australia, and I would just like to clarify t

Environment committee  Yes. One of our concerns, which I voiced today, is that with some of the acts you just mentioned there aren't presently compliance mechanisms. That is a major concern of ours. The Migratory Birds Convention Act, for example, is an absolute prohibition and there is no way to be a

Environment committee  First, in response to your first point, I'd like to add that while the Canadian economy presently is shedding jobs, we can't hire people fast enough. We are facing a human resource shortage and need people across a whole range of disciplines as quickly as we can. With the numbers

Environment committee  The example we provided in our brief already exists in at least one province's environmental assessment legislation, which is simply an enabling mechanism. The Province of B.C. can determine on a case-by-case basis that a particular project is best reviewed by the federal governm

Environment committee  Thank you for the opportunity to present to you today. I am here with my colleague, Justyna Laurie-Lean, who has worked on federal environment assessments since the act's inception. MAC represents the majority of major mining producers in Canada. Our members produce a diversity

Natural Resources committee  We could continue geoscience investments and continue to invest in the capacity of the various resource boards and agencies to do their jobs efficiently, as per Ramsey's point earlier. The government established the northern project management office, which is new but has the p

Natural Resources committee  You're right.

Natural Resources committee  If you look at the aboriginal skills and employment partnership program, the total federal contribution in the end is about 10% to 15%. The rest comes from industry or from other partners, educational institutions, and so on. It's been the most successful aboriginal-focused train

Natural Resources committee  At this point, our drivers are mostly internal. In Canada as a whole—not the federal government or the provinces—there are mixed signals. It's an uncertain policy climate and has been for a number of years.

Natural Resources committee  But independent of that, it's an issue that even at the global level, the International Council on Mining and Metals has been very engaged on, climate change policy issues. They have a statement. So it's an issue that—

Natural Resources committee  I'd be speculating to give you a precise answer. I'll go back to what I said earlier. Just as there's a built-in incentive to reduce energy, because it's a major cost, and therefore reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a price on carbon can also be a disincentive to investment, pote

Natural Resources committee  I don't think I'm going to give you a clear answer, because you have a very precise question that I don't have the answer to.

Natural Resources committee  No, not at this point; I don't have something with me, no.

Natural Resources committee  That's not our business line. We produce commodities; we don't necessarily produce the commodities.... There is research under way to develop more energy-efficient mills in Canada; there's research at UBC, for example. When we do that, the technology ends up being used and export