Mr. Speaker, the hon. member rightly points out that I did visit the Asia-Pacific area over the past week and a half. The reason I did so is that area provides significant opportunities for Canadian private sector energy companies.
If we look at this region, energy needs are growing at the rate of 11 per cent or 12 per cent per annum. In this country we have expertise, be it in relation to coal, hydro, natural gas or the nuclear industry, which will permit these economies to continue to develop over the coming years.
In this country we understand energy. We have goods, services, equipment and technologies to sell. That was the purpose of my trip.