It's important for us to remember that for a number of years now, the Natural Resources Committee has not been focusing its attention exclusively on natural resources. We've also examined issues related to aboriginal affairs and industry. Therefore, we have never really exhausted our study of a range of topics.
We need to review the overall energy management plan, as it applies to the provinces as well as to the United States. As everyone knows, energy has become a critically important component of our economy. After several lean years on the natural resources front, the committee has a number of issues on its plate. But first, we need to know what the department's plans are in order to establish some parameters to guide our work in this area.
Regarding natural resources, the committee should certainly look into lumber and various mineral resources. We should tackle a number of issues that have not been examined in years. In my opinion, we need to have a meeting as soon as possible to identify priorities. Perhaps we should hear first from departmental officials, in order to maximize any future meetings. There wouldn't necessarily have to be many meetings. We're talking about one meeting to hear from departmental officials and another meeting to set our priorities.