Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to our witnesses for being here today.
I think I'll go today where I went last week, starting off with the point or the conclusion, when we had the Auditor General here, that spending money is not a result. Saying that you're spending x number of dollars to do something is not actually a result; it's the actual outcomes and changes that would be effected and that we're not seeing.
We saw that with several reports last week, and we're seeing that again in this report this week. We see the commissioner say things like the government “committed to”, but again, afterwards the conclusions were that it was “unprepared and slow”, with “little action” and missed deadlines. I think one of the things that was most concerning was the commissioner alluding to a “collapse” similar to what has been seen in Canadian history in other comparable things.
One of the frustrations I have, Mr. DeMarco, particularly right now with the geopolitical situation in the world, is that we talk about phasing out oil production, for example, and a decrease and lack of emphasis on that. We're seeing Canada's ability to be a leader on the world stage of supporting geopolitical partners in Asia, Europe and the United States with high gas prices, in the production of natural gas and so forth.
In terms of world leaders, there was a recent news article about Prime Minister Boris Johnson visiting Saudi Arabia seeking “more oil output”. We're seeing the European Union banning Russian oil, rightfully so, and looking for other markets. Right now the 27-country bloc relies on Russia for 25% of its oil. One of the frustrating points is that there was a recent article in the National Post, entitled “Joe Biden begs dictators for oil while Canada's energy industry remains hobbled”, saying that in Canada we have the “ability to produce and export [our] natural resources, at little to no cost to the treasury”.
Again, we have a democratic country here that abides by the rule of law. We have strong environmental standards and I think good human rights standards when it comes to around the world.
Mr. DeMarco, as you mentioned, climate change is an intergenerational challenge. It's an international one as well. When Canada does A, country B could come in and fill in a gap of where it is. Do you track emissions of other targets? When oil production is decreased in Canada, for example, and a project in Iran, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia or China is undertaken, are you comparing what those emissions are that are going into the global emissions versus what they could have been by using clean, ethical Canadian oil?