I thank the member for his comments.

We’ve heard from mining companies and Aboriginal communities that the government’s approach to free and informed prior consent is not one that is going to work, and that it’s going to lead to conflict. The member is justifying their entire approach by the number of jobs—but if their approach is one that leads to conflict, won’t that jeopardize the investment itself? If I’m an investor and I see government taking an approach that leads to conflict—that’s going to scare away investment. It’s not going to draw investment.

We were in the Legislature here when First Nations chiefs came to the Legislative Assembly and they vocalized their disgust, really, around the fact that there wasn’t informed consent on this bill. It’s one of the things I think that the government isn’t listening to. The member talked at length about informed consent. It’s just another indicative factor that this government just wants to rush through things without consulting people who are directly affected by these changes, by this legislation.

I know the member talked about it, but has he heard directly from First Nation chiefs during the public hearings as to how this would affect this legislation going forward and the mining industry?