I am going to speak French.
I want to thank all of you for being here today. I also thank you, Mr. Wiborg, for joining us via videoconference.
This is very interesting. I am not a permanent member of this committee. I sit on the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development. However, this study is very interesting, even from the environmental point of view.
One thing comes to mind regarding the theme of the study, which is economic diversification. Today, we talked at length about the oil sands, pipelines, and the importance of diversification for job creation. In this regard—still in the area of natural resources—there are other natural resources that are important. Blue Green Canada recently produced a report entitled “More Bang for Our Buck”. This is a very interesting report, which mentions that the diversification of our natural resources would allow for the creation of 18,000 to 20,000 more jobs.
I liked the way Mr. McGowan clearly explained the importance of job creation. Indeed, we can create many more jobs. It is important also that we not limit ourselves to a single resource.
In Norway, they knew that they had a single resource, but they created an impressive fund for future generations.
Perhaps Mr. Wiborg, and then Mr. McGowan, could talk about the importance of creating jobs through diversification, and of having a fund to allow us to re-target the economy, which will need to be redirected for future generations.