Thank you, Chair.
My questions are for Mr. McGowan.
Mr. McGowan, welcome back to the natural resources committee. I'm from Sudbury, and as a mining town, we see the energy transformation as an opportunity for Canada and for workers, but I recognize that, depending on the geographical location of an industry, this transformation can be seen as negative.
In April 2022, you appeared before this committee as a witness during our study on creating a fair and equitable Canadian energy transformation. At that time you said:
It's clear to us in the Alberta labour movement that the oil and gas sector in our province will never be the engine for job creation that it once was, and it's irresponsible for our leaders to wave their hands and suggest that we can go back to the way things were.... This is a structural transformation, so instead of talking about maintaining the status quo, we should be planning for a future that's going to look very different from our past.
My question to you today is this: In terms of America's Inflation Reduction Act, what do you think is needed from the federal government to plan for this future for our workers while being competitive with the IRA?