Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Through you to Mr. Longfield, indeed, it might not be enough. The hope would be that it would grow beyond $1 billion, because the need is so great. Look at some of the watersheds that have been impacted in British Columbia and need restoration, especially the Fraser, which is the largest river system in our province. It has seen tremendous development impacts over many years. It's also seen natural impacts.
Look at the Big Bar slide just a couple of years ago that almost entirely blocked the Fraser River and caused major implications for wild salmon. Look at the lower Fraser River in the Fraser Valley, where the flooding we saw last year occurred. A lot of the impact on ecosystems that we saw was a result of development over time that hasn't taken into account the impact on natural systems.
There's a tremendous opportunity there to restore those ecosystems and rebuild the natural resilience. It's going to take a serious commitment, probably beyond what's articulated here.
The billion-dollar number comes directly from Mr. Zeman's presentation. I think it's based on, if I recall, a $400-million contribution from the province, an equal $400-million contribution from the federal government and $200 million that would be leveraged from private investors.
I'll look for the chair's indulgence if I just stray down a slight side path here to address one of Mr. Mazier's earlier points about job creation. I think the potential of this fund is that, if the federal government makes a substantive investment, there's the potential to leverage investment from the private sector. When we talk about job creation and economic development, leveraging private investment is often an important part of the conversation.
Now we're talking about—