It's a very good question, Mr. Mazier. Thank you very much for posing it.
I spent a career as a member of Parliament on finding ways to help Canadians in difficult times, such as through two energy rebates with my Liberal colleagues, back in 2000 and 2002, designed to offset the cost and the impact on consumers. Ultimately, at the end of the day, we can have all these rarefied discussions about what's right, what's wrong and what kind of energy we use. The reality is that as Canadians, in a cold climate, in a country that has to attract capital but has not been doing a very good job at it, save and except for residential housing, we cannot look a gift horse in the mouth.
The oil and gas sector, like it or not—and I have fought them—is 10% of our GDP. It represents $20 billion to $30 billion in revenues to pay my pension, and to pay your fees and your costs as a member of Parliament, as well as to support social programs from coast to coast. Most countries at this time would give their right arm to have what Canada has and its ability to send energy to the rest of the world.
We can have a debate about the long-term implications, but I think in the short term, for the sake of consumers and our economic viability, it's important to have a strong and viable oil and gas sector, yes, to pay for the subsidies that are going to go to renewables to make sure they become, at some point down the road, more viable. As it stands, they are not. Countries like Germany have spent 30 years ahead of us on all these renewables, and they're back to, as you mentioned earlier, burning coal. The reality is that we need to look at a mixture.
The diversity of our energy mix in this country is truly enviable. My former riding, Pickering, saw the first commercial nuclear reactors in North America. We've developed hydroelectric. We've developed natural gas. Guess what? The European Union agrees. It's time to refocus our efforts, not so much on whether we can get access to oil and gas but to actually reinforce the need to look at nuclear and natural gas as transitions.
When Canadians are not part of this discussion, Mr. Mazier, when they're left out and frozen out, as I think the debate is currently poised, is it any wonder that you're seeing a significant disconnection between Canadians who are frustrated and the people who represent them?