Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am not sure that there is going to be a lot to add, from myself, at least, today with regard to the report. Yesterday was when we read the report into the record and asked to have it moved into Committee of the Whole. I think, for the most part, the report speaks for itself. It is fairly extensive in terms of capturing what the process was.
Mr. Chair, the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment concluded its review of Bill 38, Protected Areas Act, on June 3, 2019, with a public clause-by-clause review held here at the Legislative Assembly building. This was followed by public hearings on the bill held in eight communities earlier this spring.
The committee received 20 public submissions on the bill and carried 30 motions to amend the bill during clause-by-clause review. These motions were a result of close collaboration between the committee and the Minister and resulted in a much-improved bill. The committee thanks the Minister for his ongoing cooperation.
I would be remiss if I didn't add at this point in time that the committee was concerned originally as to what kind of time and resources that we might have to be able to focus on the Protected Areas Act during this particular sitting. It was through some common understanding and, again, collaboration, cooperation, and compromise, quite frankly, with the Minister and his department, that we would take the Forest Act, Bill 44, and have it removed and move it to the 19th Assembly for further consideration and public consultation so that it, in itself, could be improved.
By doing that, Mr. Chair, that allowed the committee to free up a little bit of resources. I won't use "free" too freely, because, quite frankly, we still have a considerable amount of work on our plate, but it allowed us to put some considerable resources and some important time towards moving the Protected Areas Act into the May-June sitting.
With the efforts that were made by committee, as well as the Minister and his staff, we were able to get to where we are today, and I want to just express my thanks and gratitude to everyone involved. I am happy to see that we have reached this point in time, and I look forward to us moving the amendments and improving the bill later on.
Mr. Chair, individual Members may have additional comments or questions as we proceed with consideration of the bill. Thank you.