Good morning, Mr. Chair and committee members. Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak with you today.

My name is Lesley Williams. I'm the senior manager of aboriginal and regulatory affairs at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada.

With me is my colleague Michael Fox. He serves as the co-chair of the PDAC's aboriginal affairs committee in a voluntary capacity. He's also the president of his own company, Indigenous and Community Engagement Inc.

The PDAC is the national voice of the mineral exploration and development community. With over 8,000 members around the world, our mission is to promote a globally responsible, vibrant, and sustainable minerals industry. We encourage leading practices in technical, operational, environmental, safety, and social performance. The annual PDAC convention is regarded as the premier international event for the minerals industry. It has attracted more than 25,000 people from 125 countries in recent years.

Most of the association's policy efforts and initiatives are focused on ensuring Canada remains the best place in the world to explore for mineral and metal deposits. On behalf of our members in the mineral industry at large, we work on numerous issues that focus on five main priority areas, one of which is aboriginal affairs, the topic of our presentation to you today.

The aboriginal affairs program at the PDAC was established in 2004. This was largely in response to the changing legal and social landscape driven by the duty-to-consult framework and the recognition that local community support and involvement was key to project success.

The work of the PDAC's aboriginal affairs program centres on supporting co-operation and understanding between companies and communities. We focus on achieving two key goals. The first is improving efforts by our members to build positive, mutually beneficial relationships with the communities in whose traditional territories they are working. Second is to enhance the participation by aboriginal people in the minerals industry.

Turning to your study, specifically the focus on the opportunities for aboriginal people, our remarks today will cover the evolving landscape related to aboriginal communities and the mineral industry in Canada, engagement in aboriginal participation in the sector, some of the challenges that still remain, and what is next in the ever-evolving landscape.

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