If I was not clear, I am sorry, especially since this is exactly the kind of situation I have in mind. It seems to me that based on certain established conventions, including rulings by the Supreme Court of Canada, the Canadian Parliament has the responsibility to negotiate and implement international treaties. However, when the application or the implementation of these treaties involves the provinces, the federal government cannot interfere in provincial processes, except under very specific provisions of the Canadian Constitution. Consequently, from that point of view, we need approaches or tools which have been established by the provinces.
I would like to clarify two points. First, if Canada is to respect its international commitments, all of these plans must deliver the goods. Second, regarding the benefits of the European plan which you mentioned, if we are to trade permits between countries, we will have to maintain that kind of system within the framework of Canadian policy.
If you understood that I thought we should have a national Canadian policy, I apologize. We must, however, integrate provincial and territorial policies. Further, if we choose a system of tradable permits, we cannot erect barriers which will prevent these permits from being traded between provinces.