Yes, it is a worthwhile program.
I should add that the concerns over this issue have become more obvious this year with the wildfire season. I would point you to paragraph 1.1 of our report where we mentioned, back in April, that climate change “will increase risks and negative effects for Canadians because of, for example, the number of heat waves and forest fires.” I wish that paragraph hadn't been so prescient for this year's fire season, but it was. We need to step up efforts to both mitigate and adapt to climate change.
The two billion trees program is worthwhile, and that's pretty much illustrated in exhibit 1.4. The payback period is long, though, so I'm pleased that this department is willing to take on a program that has such a long payback period. This is because, often, governments discount the future and do not necessarily favour long-term decision-making over short-term, which is lesson number eight from our climate report from 2021 on lessons learned.
There is an important payback in terms of carbon sequestration. It won't start to accrue until after 2030 or so, and that's illustrated in exhibit 1.4. Once those trees start getting more mature, there is a large degree of carbon sequestration that would result.