Yes, I can provide more of an explanation. You must bear in mind that this motion was introduced a very long time ago. That was in response to a request that had been made to us to suggest future business for the committee. I looked around a little and discovered that the government was investing a lot of money in the ecoEnergy programs; we have a lot of programs. For that reason, it would really be a good idea for this committee to determine program limits, to ensure that we can maximize their accessibility and environmental impact. We are in the middle of an economic crisis; we don't need to remind anyone of that. We should check to see whether these consumer incentives that may be characterized as environmentally friendly are really good, whether people consider them efficient, effective. It seems to me this would really be an opportunity for economists, government officials, environmentalists, citizens, private businesses from various fields and entrepreneurs to come and present their views. I believe that would be a very interesting study. We estimate that it would take between four and 12 meetings to cover this study. It must be kept in mind that the government has invested an enormous amount in the ecoEnergy programs: ecoENERGY for Technology, $31 million; Fleets, $2 million; $185 million for Biofuels, and I won't name them all, Mr. Chairman. If you look at the budget, there are a lot of them, and it seems to me it would be a good idea to determine simply whether they're efficient, so that the House can adjust matters as necessary.
On March 24th, 2009. See this statement in context.