Mr. Speaker, I will use this right of reply wisely and focus on the points raised by my colleagues in their remarks about the motion on public willingness with regard to natural resource development.

I would like to dispel some of the doubts and reservations that were expressed by members of the House who believe that the expression of public willingness is equivalent to a right of veto.

That is not the case. We need to put the whole thing in context. When I talk about taking into account public willingness, I am talking about one criterion in the permit process. There are other criteria, which seem to be more important to some, such as the economy, jobs, the environment and health. The expression of public willingness would be part of the criteria that are already taken into account out of necessity before a permit is issued to develop a mine or extract a natural resource.

In her speech, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources emphasized the need for the public to provide evidence to back up their claims regarding natural resource extraction undertakings. She said: “People's views need to be substantiated with evidence”.

I agree, and that is why the information about resource extraction or mining initiatives must be made available to the public. Canadians need to have access to all of the information, not just when the matter is closed and everything has already been signed, but in the preliminary stages, when people are called upon to express their opinions and take a position. It is essential that everyone have all the information.

Making all of the information about a given project available is an inherent part of the notion of expression of public willingness, which is at the heart of the motion before the House.

The parliamentary secretary stressed the need to base a position on facts and science. I would like to acknowledge the informed position taken by a number of people, including people in Sept-Îles. I am talking about people like Mr. Bouchard and Ms. Gagnon, who have based their position on scientific data. It was a huge job, especially if you consider that they did not have extensive financial resources at their disposal. They did everything they had to do to get the information they needed. Now they are practically experts. I am, of course, referring to Mine Arnaud, a proposed apatite mine in Sept-Îles. These are people who taught themselves over the years and developed expertise out of necessity.

As I said, I think it is essential that the public have access to all the information associated with a project. That is precisely the problem with Mine Arnaud. At the end of the day, the information does not get beyond the employers and the industry. The information is not passed along, which is why we are seeing this public outcry from the people of Sept-Îles and other places.

The fact that the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources demonstrated openness to people taking a stand by telling the House that claims have to be based on evidence suggests to me that all parliamentarians can work together to reduce the harmful impact of public opposition to economic initiatives in Canada. I have talked about that harmful impact several times in the House. Every public outcry has a direct impact on stock market value. We can see that by looking at stock market value. At least for corporate entities that issue IPOs and are publicly traded, we can see the effects of public uprising: their market value plummets.

I would also like to talk about my meeting with the parliamentary secretary to the minister in her office because I want to illustrate the inclusiveness underlying this motion. I told the parliamentary secretary that I was open to amendments and that I wanted to work inclusively and collaboratively with the Conservatives, the Liberals and my own colleagues. That remains the key feature of this motion. It would ease tensions across the country and prevent that uprising.

The Conservatives could really benefit from this motion, since we will be having an election In October, and that is pretty bad for their brand.

I submit this respectfully.

Jonathan Genest-Jourdain

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