Just like you, this disturbs me, but it also worries me because it means that the big oil interests were represented in Bali within the Canadian delegation, whereas parliamentarians were unable to make their voices heard within that same delegation. Those members of civil society whose task is to protect Canada's and Quebec's environmental interests were not represented either. In my opinion, this is very worrisome.
I will move on to my second question. Mr. Henderson, you spoke about the carbon market. We were very happy to read the report of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy which was released last week. It stated that a price had to be set for carbon and that there had to be a carbon market in the form of a tax or a carbon exchange. However, Canada clearly indicated in Bali, in particular, that it did not intend, in the second phase of cuts, to introduce mandatory 25% to 40% reductions of the 1990 level by the year 2020.
You spoke about uncertainty earlier. What is it that creates uncertainty around a future Canadian carbon market? We should remember the declaration made by Mr. Ivo de Boer about a month and a half ago, when he clearly said before the international community that a carbon market could disappear as quickly as it was created.
In looking at the current situation, I note that there is a gap between the European position and the Canadian position. Will this gap not be a drag on the capacity of Canadian businesses to do business on the international market, and more particularly on the European market, which will represent over $70 billion in the course of the next few years?
Will Canada's position and the weakening of Canada's position internationally not mean that Canadian businesses will run the risk of losing important market share?