Thank you, Mr. Chair. It's much appreciated. It's good to be here again on the public accounts committee.
Thank you to all the witnesses who have shared today and to each of my colleagues here.
As a preface, I may start with the proverbial “if a tree falls in the forest” statement. Here's a scenario to consider, perhaps, for our commissioner of the environment.
If a tree falls in the forest in a jurisdiction where there is no replantation plan, where there is little to no regulation, where there is less than adequate compensation for the work being done and human rights violations are very high, or if you have the choice of harvesting that tree in a jurisdiction like Canada, where reforestation is likely to happen, where there's high-paying compensation and wages for that particular worker or individual, and where there's much more environmental regulation and oversight of that particular harvest, the same principle could apply to the energy sector as well: Is it better for us?
As we know, we're tackling climate change and dealing with these issues. They are international in scope. What happens in one jurisdiction obviously affects other jurisdictions. Would it not be better for us as Canadians to make sure, while the world is still largely dependent upon and looking for energy from reliable and safe places, of the jurisdictions under which the best environmental regulations are put in place, where the workers are properly compensated and where we can get a good return on investment for the production of energy? Would it not make more sense to make sure that Canadians are employed and have the opportunity for making a good livelihood and providing for their families, rather than outsourcing those jobs to other jurisdictions that are far less regulated and do not have near the environmental regime in place that we have here in Canada?
For you, Mr. Commissioner, I think many Canadians are asking that question. They are wondering why we are putting all of the emphasis on shutting down our sectors or transitioning away from our resources while the world is still needing them and, in fact, increasingly demanding good, safe, reliable sources for their energy supply, which is going to be needed for the foreseeable future. I think Canadians want answers to that question, and they would ask this committee and others to say: “Hold on just a second: Why won't we prioritize Canadian workers where we have some of the best regimes in the world under the environment?”
I put that to you, Mr. Commissioner. Are you as well seeing and hearing that feedback from Canadians with those types of concerns?