Is there a link between sustainable development and fiscal policy? Absolutely. I think if we are going to marry notions of economic prosperity with environmental conservation and social well-being, there are going to be linkages that run amongst all of those. In terms of the federal government, how it manages both its taxation as well as the incentives it provides for research and development play a fundamental role in terms of how we shift our economy, through both incentives and disincentives, away from some of the things like fossil fuel development that have significant environmental and social and economic challenges towards more sustainable forms of energy production and consumption.
On November 2nd, 2006. See this statement in context.