Let me respond. First of all, these decisions, as you're aware, are not made by individuals; they are made by government collectively. So the decision to not continue with the current version of EnerGuide that was crafted by the previous Liberal government was a decision of the Government of Canada. It was made collectively, and there's nothing more I can say than that. My deputy said it was a cabinet confidence, but it was a decision by the government. Every decision that's made is a collective decision of the government. We can just leave it at that.
Let me just say that energy efficiency is very important to me personally. I believe there will be enormous opportunities for energy efficiency in homes in the years and the decades to come. Let me tell you my vision of where we are going.
There are some great opportunities in things like the heating and cooling of homes right across Canada. Ground-source heat pumps are an enormously efficient way of heating and cooling homes. The technology is there. It's been there for years. It's economical. I think we need to move the entire construction industry and the renovation industry to getting into these forms of energy efficiency.
Solar is still relatively expensive, but when I speak to people in the industry, I can see a day coming--whether it's 20 years from now--in which, when you will build a new home and put in a hot water tank, or you put in a heating or cooling system, you're going to put in a solar system, and we will have homes that are net zero users of energy. We will actually be able to put energy back on the grid. That technology exists today, and we want to support those technologies so we can move forward. Yes, we will come forward with energy efficiency programs.
There were parts of the EnerGuide program that were working, and there were other parts that were not. We're looking at those areas, as we develop our programs, which we think are in the interests of every single Canadian taxpayer. We're going to work with our provincial counterparts in the months ahead and partner with them again to ensure that we get the greatest value.
I want to say very strongly that I believe energy efficiency in the industrial sector, in our transportation sector, and in our housing sector plays a very significant role on this file, and it's something I'm very committed to. I look forward to your suggestions and to working with you.