Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is a bill that I am heartily speaking in favour of, heartily, heartily in favour of. The tourism industry is something that I and my family have had some connection with over a good number of years. The operators and the people who are involved in it deserve every bit of support and encouragement that we can give them. It's a very distinct lifestyle, a very interesting and challenging way to make a living. It can be immensely satisfying but, in the meantime, there are issues that tourism entrepreneurs face that are perhaps unlike many others in the private sector. So I know this bill has been some time in the making and the industry, of course, is anxious to get it through and I hope to be able to help do that today.
The area of licensing, as has been discussed here, is one of special consideration. The area I was specifically interested in, Mr Chairman, was in the consultation area and the onus that I believe the old act put on tourism operators to be responsible for seeking or for generating and producing the approvals of communities of regional wildlife committees, of everybody who might be on the consultation list. Sometimes those lists, Mr. Chairman, were daunting, given that these are, in some cases, small businesses, very small businesses, but the requirement for paperwork for communication, for seeking approval, for many of these other things, elevated what are otherwise simple and straightforward businesses way up there in terms of just how complex we made the consultation process.
So what I wanted to ask, Mr. Chairman, is the onus still on the tourism operator to be responsible for generating all of the consultation approvals and requirements or has the system been arranged, so that there is more on us, if you will, or reliance on stakeholders or the government to shoulder some of this burden, Mr. Chairman?