Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I listened carefully to the evidence and I was somewhat surprised at the seriousness of the situation that was reported by the representatives of the oil companies. The situation is serious for our environment, but definitely not for the oil companies.
They raised three main arguments for maintaining the tax benefits. The first is that the oil companies generate economic activity. However, it seems to me that, if we encouraged other industries, such as renewable industries, they would also generate economic activity.
I'd like to ask Mr. Caccia or Mr. Iterson the following question. If we developed larger numbers of renewable energy companies in Canada, would those companies also pay taxes? Wouldn't their employees also pay taxes? Lastly, wouldn't that generate as much economic activity, or perhaps even more? Would that be economically advantageous for Canada?