Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and good morning.
The question I was going to ask the minister was one that attempted to link the strategic planning and policy development process with the estimates. In other words, here is the issue. The issue I think the committee would be interested in is the carbon capture and sequestration program. The economics that are driving the R and D investments presently price carbon between.... We've heard many different prices. The presumption is that for carbon capture and sequestration to be commercially viable and competitive, you'd need a price of around $30.
My question on the strategic side is, given that information, when does the department start to advise what the implementation schedule is for setting a price on carbon?
That's on the strategic side. Then, on the basis of what the answer to that is, when does the department advise the minister, concerning the investments in clean technologies—the $150 million that has been allocated in the 2009 budget—that this is the point, compared with the return projected on CCS, at which we start now to make investments in major clean technologies?
The second part of my question is, could you tell the committee what would be the priority list, in terms of investments in clean technologies, the commercialization of the R and D that has already been expended? Does the department have a plan to take, through the minister, a strategic direction with respect to CCS as it impacts upon clean technology research and its commercialization?