Thank you very much.
Thank you, Madam May, for being here, and thank you to Dr. McArthur.
You know, it's been interesting, because I look at this from the context of a lot of my experience as a member of Parliament from rural Canada, and the people I represent, and also having the chance to connect, over the last three years, with many people across the country. Seeing some of the challenges that have been highlighted, the trouble that certainly my constituents have is a lack of trust that a process like developing a framework like this wouldn't have a very negative impact on their livelihoods and their future. As an example, about 10,000 people in my constituency are directly or indirectly employed by the oil and gas sector, are very proud to be so and have an exemplary record of environmental stewardship.
Madam May, certainly one of the concerns I have with this bill is that there seems to be this intent to transition away from energy sources that provide significant employment to people in my constituency, including indigenous peoples and people of colour, and in communities that in many cases were very marginalized but, because of energy development, were really given an economic hand-up.
I am curious as to some of the concerns I have about that.