I think we need a twofold approach. The oil and gas sector is 27% of Alberta's economy, so to ignore it would not make sense to me. It would be to work with the industry, both to reduce its cost structure, so it can compete in a world of lower prices, or perhaps this Alberta discount will continue, and to reduce its environmental imprint, because that's important to all of us on this planet, but also to go beyond oil and gas. There is no one industry that is going to replace 20% of the GDP in any economy, but there are potentials in Alberta, and I tried to touch on them in my opening remarks.
We probably are the centre of nanotechnology in Canada, because of the presence of the National Institute for Nanotechnology, NINT, at the University of Alberta. There are dozens of companies that are spinning off and have the potential to take their technologies to market.
We have some strength in the health sector. The University of Calgary, for example, is one of the world leaders in the biome. It's kind of gross when you think of it, but there are actually millions of organisms living on and in our bodies, and they're not just hitching a ride; they're part of us, part of our health. By understanding how that biome works more effectively we can develop technologies that can diagnose diseases and perhaps cure some of them in ways that we've not been able to.
So building on those kinds of expertise, I think, is the kind of thing that.... It has really nothing to do with oil and gas. So I think, in short, we need a double-barrelled approach.