Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Minister, thank you for your presence here this morning and for your leadership on this very important and complex file.
I'd like to spend my time speaking specifically to environmental initiatives and support for your department and for the environment that we see in the economic action plan, Budget 2009.
It's clear since the inception of our government in 2006 that the environment has been a clear, stated priority--the protection of the environment. Despite these challenging global economic times, as I read the economic action plan, that commitment to the environment remains strong. Although I have some specific questions about specific initiatives in the economic action plan, I wanted to ask if you could just start generally by speaking about support for the issue of the environment in the economic action plan.