Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I want to welcome the new members of our committee. Thanks for being present today.
Thanks to the witnesses who have provided testimony.
This is probably the worst audit—and in so many ways—that we've seen at this committee. Eight years, as my colleague just mentioned, is what this government has had to deal with what is a matter of our future. This is the biggest issue that this generation will face. Literally, our children may not have a planet to live on, and that is a fact we can't ignore. The fact that some of my colleagues here are in denial about the reality of the deteriorating climate is disappointing.
The other reality is that some of my other colleagues want to simply kill this plan by delay. It's denial and delay, and it just seems like the “Liberal, Tory, same old story” situation. We can't continue to do this, and my colleagues know that. Each and every one of my colleagues knows that.
I'm from the province that this hits the hardest. My family.... I've talked to this committee before about this. People have made real sacrifices in order to make sure they can survive in this environment and this economy, and we're not even approaching some of the people who have the solutions to this.
The unions were made mention of in the consultations. In some of this report.... As the commissioner mentions, there was barely any consultation. We've talked about that. There has been barely any consultation. I've spoken to the unions. They still haven't been engaged. Where are they at the table? They have some of the solutions to this.
We have no federal implementation plan, no formal governance structure and no measuring or monitoring system. I quote: “Overall, 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.”
That is independent advice to this committee about the reality of this plan. How are Canadians supposed to have faith in this? No one around this room is taking this seriously. We have a serious obligation to do this work on behalf of Canadians and to make sure that we can actually hit some of these targets, but it's very clear, as was mentioned by my colleague previously, that we haven't hit one of our targets since—not one of our international targets. That's shameful.
This is a committee about accountability to a government commitment, when the government has done so little—so little. Our own audit here displays that.
Commissioner DeMarco, I sympathize and empathize with you in your role to remain optimistic, but how can Canadians remain optimistic with some of this very clear evidence that the support toward a just transition is just not there?
Even in our Prairies Economic Development board, for example, per your report, they're being forced to utilize existing programs to deliver a just transition framework, programs that were never meant to do that. No one is taking this seriously.
The Natural Resources deputy minister who is here today mentioned consultations. Eight years...? We have to stop talking about this and start doing something. I didn't want to hear that we're going around and making some more plans. The energy minister mentioned a big round table discussion. There is information here. The fact that our Auditor General's office has more information than Natural Resources, the lead department, is ridiculous.
Canadians deserve so much better than this.
Mr. DeMarco, in your advice here, is Natural Resources Canada even the appropriate department to be doing this, or should Canadians look at instituting a different department or a different framework, because the question I have is this: Is this system we have right now going to actually be successful?