Thanks, Chair.
Thank you, Minister, for being with us today.
I just want to say thanks, also, for your words about the climate lens and our continued work to make it better and stronger as we go forward. Thank you for that.
First of all, your critic Mr. Scheer has complained that there aren't enough projects and that projects aren't going fast enough, yet he wanted to cut $18 billion from the infrastructure fund, which would have been about half the budget of the CIB. Then we just heard from Ms. Kusie some strange sentiments with regard to climate action and the importance of having a price on carbon in this country and transitioning to a low-carbon economy.
Putting those two things together, I just wonder if you could talk to the committee about why this is the right moment, this moment when we are in a pandemic, when workforce participation is low and when there is a climate crisis. Why is now the time, more than ever, to be investing in infrastructure that is green and smart and helps us to transition to a low-carbon economy rather than hobbling it by budget cuts?