Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thanks for your testimony today.
John, you mentioned that you've been at this for six years. I know that you and APC were involved in some of the amendments that we see in this revised legislation, so I just wanted to say thanks for your work on that.
One of the things we talk a lot about on this committee is the following. Some people believe this legislation should solve all problems, which I don't think is possible. That's my personal view. I'm a big fan of trying to tackle the things you can, and then moving forward. How does this set up? My understanding or view is that what we're going to do with this is.... It's enabling legislation, first of all. What it will do is to enable the government to go forward and put together some regulations with respect to drinking water and waste water. Then you go forward and consult and work with first nations to determine what those regulations are going to be. And then once you now what those regulations are going to be, you're able to determine what the cost of that is going to be and, therefore, what kind of funding you're going to need to meet those obligations.
Presuming that's exactly how this goes, do you agree that's the right approach, and if so, why?