Thank you.
I will start with your original question. Let me assure you that as Minister of the Environment I will be a fierce champion of those programs that have proven effective over the course of recent years--for example, the program on air quality, the chemical management program, and the contaminated sites programs. But I can't divulge my cabinet conversations with the Minister of Finance on the worthiness of these programs. You'll simply have to wait until the budget on March 22. I will be glad to come back and discuss exactly what the budget contains and what the supplementary estimates will be for these important programs in my department.
With regard to the weather operations, the Government of Canada is committed to providing a world-class weather service, and we are recognized around the world for the quality of that service. That does not say there are not improvements that can be made.
With regard to your point on the report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, he revealed a number of risks, a number of challenges, a number of shortcomings with regard to a severe weather warning capacity. We accept those recommendations and we are moving to improve them.
We are also moving in Canada's north to improve the weather services provided there. We are working to provide the north with the same sort of high-quality forecasting and warning service, weather alert service, that Canadians in the south enjoy. With the diminishing ice in the Arctic, and the fact that more and more commercial vessels as well as coastal vessels are in need of accurate and safe forecasting, and in light of our commitment to fulfilling our international obligations on navigable waters, I made an announcement just a couple of weeks ago in Yellowknife that we will invest in improved technology there.