Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I have known Sherif for at least 25 years and I know that he speaks French very well. Unfortunately, he is shy and that why he's not speaking French today.
I have a brief comment to make. He is extremely modest. He's a renown researcher who has worked on glass, among other things. He's done some extraordinary things. Ms. Bell asked a question about buildings and construction that may not be as good as it once was. I have to say—because he won't admit it—that the National Research Council of Canada is considered to be one of the world's best research centres on construction—especially on residential construction. Because of men like him, Canada and Sweden are known for developing the greatest number of technologies for northern climes. The United States sees us as being on the leading edge of technology in this field. However, this research has not necessarily filtered down to builders.
The extensive research been done at the National Research Council of Canada doesn't always filter down because of jurisdictional considerations. Builders come under provincial jurisdiction and take what they can from the NRC's work. The federal government is not aggressive enough to ensure these technologies are adopted. Someone raised an excellent question concerning R&D. How many new technologies have been adopted? Sound research is being conducted, but results are not being implemented because the government is not doing what it needs to do. It's as simple as that.
I'd like to come back to something Mr. Gourde said. Mr. Barakat, this committee is meeting to look into the greening of electricity consumption across Canada. We want to focus on production aspects, distribution and interutility tielines. Should distribution be done on a more regional or local level? We believe it should. What kind of approach should be taken? Who in your organization could help us explore this field further and get a better understanding of the kind of research being carried out? Mr. Gourde asked an excellent question. How much electricity is being lost during the transmission process? Should this have an impact on the maximum distances over which electricity should be transmitted? What about the distance between the location in which high voltage electricity is produced and the place where low voltage electricity is produced? All of these questions need to be answered in order for us to become green consumers of electricity. Can anyone be of direct assistance to us?