Environment committee  Can I just have 30 seconds? I think I may have committed to providing something that I can't provide. There was a question earlier, I believe from Mr. Choquette, who asked if I could attribute the actions of provinces to the GHG reductions. I can certainly show how much the pro

Environment committee  I think I started my answer by saying, no. We're 2% of the total global emissions. I think your example was if we went down to 1%; I guess that would have an impact, but it's not going to change the course of events.

Environment committee  Can I just nuance that a little bit? But, yes, you're right, the actions in Canada alone are going to have a modest impact. We're 2%. The actions of Canada, in conjunction with other countries and in the global forum, can have a big effect. If you get China and the U.S. doing thi

Environment committee  But that's what makes this tricky. You see it in how we've approached the auto sector, how we've approached the coal-fired electricity, where you're trying to balance the environmental objective that you want, but recognizing the economic impact.

Environment committee  All I can do is repeat the facts that you have said, which is we are 2% of global emissions, roughly, so that's how much of the problem we're contributing to. If you reduce that, it's going to have a relatively modest impact overall. But I would just let the facts speak for them

Environment committee  I would say as you look at running an organization like we are, sometimes you have to deal not just with a flatline budget but a declining budget. It's to find ways to do your job and allocate your priorities such that you can deliver on them. In a world of a flatlining budget, i

Environment committee  We meet regularly with members of the industry and environmental groups. I can't really elaborate on what the minister said. We don't have the regulations now. We're working on them. There have been good discussions with the province. It's a complicated area to try to get right,

Environment committee  No, but just to be clear, that's not to say there aren't discussions. But there's no negotiation today—

Environment committee  If I meet with the CAPP, the issue of GHG regulations comes up—

Environment committee  I look forward to the day when we have them done.

Environment committee  I'll take a couple of angles at that. Yes, it's true that we are 2% of global emissions. It is a global problem, and if we're going to be tackling it, everybody has to contribute. In fact, that's been an approach that Canada has taken to the international negotiations for a numb

Environment committee  Yes, it's a good point. We do actually have discussions with the insurance industry. As you say, their business is dealing with these things when they happen, so they're conscious of trying to figure out what they predict will happen in the future and trying to map out what they

Environment committee  —and try to predict what you think can happen. At Environment Canada, we're looking at ways to improve the information we can put out there about what we think might happen, so that others, whether it's a business, a municipality, or an insurance company, can use that to better u

Environment committee  I agree that you have to be careful in how you do it. It is our reporting system, but you're right. The main estimates at the beginning of the year can be quite different and typically are quite different from what you actually spend at the end of the year. So you do have to comp

Environment committee  Yes, it's actually a very significant program and we play an important role at Environment Canada, but it does involve a number of different parts of government to look at these sites, whether it's Aboriginal Affairs or others. It's a program that started in 2005 and it's sched