Thank you, Philip. Thank you for the opportunity to have a chance to chat this afternoon.
My question is with respect to lesson 8 in the report. I'll draw out the words that are similar to what we heard from Ms. Thorpe as well. Lesson 8 from the report says that “Climate change is an intergenerational crisis with a rapidly closing window for action.”
Commissioner DeMarco, you mentioned in the report that the first time we talked about phasing out fossil fuel subsidies was back in 1985. You also mentioned that, essentially, the emissions reduction fund is another net new fossil fuel subsidy introduced this past year, which, in fact, continues on at a time when.... I know that in the report we don't have the specific numbers, but the IISD has shared that we continue to subsidize oil and gas by about $18 billion. As well, there's talk of a new tax credit—another new subsidy for oil and gas that we know we can expect in this upcoming budget.
Ms. Thorpe or Commissioner DeMarco, can you comment on the juxtaposition between what you're sharing—a rapid need to take action on the climate crisis—and the current government's intention to continue to increase fossil fuel subsidies?