Thank you, Madam Chair.
This is in fact the first time I am appearing before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts. I am happy to be here and I thank you for the invitation.
Subsidies are an important issue. I recommend that you read our report on the emissions reduction fund, another report we published in November. We need accountability, as you said. We need to see whether these kinds of subsidies have a positive impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We also need accountability regarding the fund's other objectives, including in terms of employment.
As I said earlier, the current government said it would eliminate subsidies for the gas and oil industry, so we will look into this issue over the next few years to make sure that those subsidies have really been eliminated.