Thank you, Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses for being here.
This is our 13th meeting on Bill C-30. I appreciate your being here. I think all the testimony we've heard thus far has invoked a lot of good, healthy debate. We're looking forward to your recommendations. Most of you have provided verbal recommendations, so thank you for those.
I'd like to focus a bit on moving from a voluntary system to a regulatory one and the importance you see in that, which is what Bill C-30 does, along with the notice of intent to regulate. I think each of you have made comments on the importance of carbon trading.
Is the importance of having a stable, predictable structure with Bill C-30 what takes us in a direction to reduce greenhouse gas emissions? Bill C-30 also deals with reducing pollution, cleaning the air that we breathe, but today I just want to focus on the greenhouse gas emissions, which I think is relevant to your testimony.
Is it important to have a regulatory structure—as opposed to a voluntary—to have a domestic or international carbon market actually function? Right now it is voluntary. People can participate in a voluntary way within the carbon markets. But we've seen greenhouse gas emissions skyrocket under the previous government. This government wants to take seriously the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
So how important is it that we move from voluntary to regulatory?