Perhaps I can start. I'm sure Mike also has some thoughts on it.
I think the federal government clearly would look first and foremost to those programs that would have a national application or national impact. Areas that have been mentioned several times and are often undervalued--they just don't seem particularly exciting--are codes and standards. That's where you get a huge bang for your buck. If you ramp up the efficiency on, say, the industrial side of the motors that drive so many processes, then every motor that goes in subsequently will be of that high order. No one has to make a choice trading off the economics of the fuel input with the efficiency of the motor. You just move up a whole class of consuming products.
It's the same for the white goods, as was referred to earlier; I think Carol mentioned 12% improvement in appliances. Certainly the charts I've seen show a dramatic reduction in energy consumption of white goods. The size of the refrigerator has grown; at the same time, the energy cost of running that refrigerator is less than half. That's pretty dramatic stuff, and that's driven as much by codes and standards as it is by consumer choice. This is one area where I think government can play a role.
Another area is dealing with those who are often left behind. Low-income Canadians, for instance, may or may not be informed. There are problems getting information to people in those circumstances, and with their inability to act on it. There are opportunities, I think, from a social policy point of view to drive energy efficiency where it's least likely to be picked up through self-interest or on an economic basis.
There certainly are many other areas. I mentioned the notion of a stand-alone fund that could be utilized by both industry and other jurisdictions in custom fitting energy efficiency solutions for particular regions and particular circumstances. Why is that important? Well, as people have noted, the circumstances in Quebec or Manitoba versus the circumstances in Ontario or Alberta are hugely different when it comes to the fuel base and the cost structure of the electricity systems. The types of programs are unlikely to fit absolutely seamlessly.
So there are lots of other possibilities, but I think government works best where it deals with setting the macro picture and leaving the economics, leaving consumers to make their choices and to be supported by industry in delivering customized solutions for each customer.