I’m pleased to be able to stand today and speak to third reading of Bill 71 and the Mining Act. I just want to start by saying that I supported this act at second reading because I do think it’s critical that we extract our resources from the north for the prosperity of the north, and the prosperity of all in the north. Subsequent to voting in favour at the second reading, after the bill went through committee and through various things that have happened here, it’s very clear that the duty to consult was not met. The challenge with that is you can’t simply expropriate a piece of people’s land. It’s not that simple.

The process of consultation is not easy. We set up a process that was longer and more deliberative and included everyone and that was maybe not as fast as everybody would like. The challenge becomes that when you exclude some people, when you say to some people, “Your opinion, your voice, what you have to say doesn’t matter; it doesn’t matter, and we’re not going to listen to you,” what does that do? First of all, probably about the worst thing you can do to an individual or a group of people is to say, “What you have to say?” or literally, “You don’t matter. You’re extinct. You’re not in the picture.”

How do you think people are going to react? What are they going to do? First of all, it’s not right. Second of all, they’re going to go to court. And this government’s record in court cases is not really that great. It’s 0 for something, but I don’t know if it’s 10 or 12 by now.

Interjections.