Thank you, Chair.
Thank you, Minister, for being here today. Congratulations on your recent appointment as Minister of Natural Resources. I think it's absolutely fantastic to have a member of Parliament who represents such a large rural area so rich in natural resources representing the file, and I certainly have the utmost confidence that you'll continue to do a great job.
Minister, my question is going to be a little bit broader than the scope of what would normally be considered part of the Natural Resources file. We know from recent events that have happened in eastern Europe that Vladimir Putin and Russia have been using energy as an economic weapon, or threatened to use energy as an economic weapon. They've been meddling in the affairs of the Ukraine and so on, and as a result of that, our committee has undertaken a study and we've had a couple of meetings where we've discussed what Canada's role could, or possibly should be, in helping our traditional allies in Europe with some of their energy needs.
I'm wondering if you could update this committee on the discussions that you've had on the topic with some of your G-7 counterparts and tell this committee what Canada can do, what this committee can do, and what the private sector could possibly do to help our allies abroad.