Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Good afternoon and welcome to all the witnesses.
My first question is for Mr. Collyer, from the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.
In your first recommendation to the federal government, you in a way asked that a new tax program be created to allow larger investments, to support oil companies' research and development. You say this: "For a 30-month period, the federal government will give development and completion expenditures the same tax treatment as that afforded exploration wells."
In the context of that request, you talk, among other things, about a program that was implemented in 1974, the accelerated capital cost allowance tax provision. However, you make no reference to environmental issues, which are considered by Quebec and Canadian society as an important issue that concerns you directly as representative of the oil companies.
You're asking the federal government for financial support, but you make no reference to the fact that you must increasingly protect the environment, particularly in the area of oil sands exploration. In 1974, the prevailing tax provision recognized the high costs and long pre-production investment periods, the high risk of volatile oil prices, financing risks and the future flow of government revenues. There was very little talk of environmental protection at that time. On the other hand, it's a major issue now, a fact of which you are not unaware.
Why do you not even talk about it in the context of this request?