Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The reason I am a bit vague on this at this point is because I have not yet ascertained whether industry and labour might be willing to contribute to this important process by contributing the cost of their representatives participating on this committee. If that happens, then the cost to government will be confined to supporting a chairperson who is knowledgeable in mining.

I also believe that if we do it properly, consultation with industry and labour will be done by the Chamber of Mines and the Alliance of Mine Workers, recently formed. So it will not be necessary to have, at least initially, an expensive public hearing type of process.

To answer the Member's question, I would estimate that we will need to retain the services of an expert in mining for a period of up to a year, but I am not sure we will have significant other costs. Those costs I am not prepared to guess at the moment, but consultants in the field can probably cost, if they are expert and credible, at least $500 a day.