Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Wilkinson, for taking the time to stay with us. It's very much appreciated.
I certainly share your view that we could have a very optimistic future, given the incredible resources and the skills that we have, but it's all dependent on our recognizing the urgency of the crisis and the necessity of our getting this right, because it is the question of the age.
When I was reading the environment commissioner's report on the handling of just transition, I was concerned when he said:
...we found that Natural Resources Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada were not prepared to support a just transition to a low‑carbon economy for workers and communities.
He also said:
The government had made a commitment to support a just transition and established a lead department.
He continued, however, that this department, Natural Resources, had not established a governance structure that would set out the related roles and did not have a plan.
My question for you is whether Natural Resources is the best place to handle an issue of just transition, which has always been about promoting Canada's resource sector. Are you equipped to handle this, given what we've seen from the environment commissioner's report?