Thank you, Minister, for appearing before committee. It's good to have you here for the first time.
You have often said that the environment and the economy go hand in hand, and I fully agree with you.
As you move forward with your commitment to impose carbon pricing on Canadians, on the provinces and on the territories, have you given thought to how you're going to ensure that you maintain a level playing field for Canadian businesses vis-à-vis their competitors around the world? I'm thinking of the United States, which in a perfect world would move in lockstep with us in implementing our approaches to climate change. The reality is that we typically move at a different pace from the United States. The same is true for all of our key competitors around the world.
I have spoken to many Canadian businesses that appreciate that Canada has to do its part to address the environmental challenges that face us, but they are deathly afraid that the playing field will be dramatically tilted against them if Canada moves forward with aggressive climate change policy and specifically carbon pricing if, in fact, some of the key competitors do not follow suit.
What I'd want to hear from you is the approach you will be bringing to the table to assure our businesses that they will continue to be able to thrive within the global market.