Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for the wonderful question. It is a very thoughtful question.
By the way, just to correct the record, I am from B.C., not Alberta, although that is nearly the same neighbourhood. From here in Ottawa or from the CN Tower, when we look past the Rocky Mountains things are not visible sometimes, but that is okay. I can understand that.
With regard to the funding, we are not debating the funding. I think every reasonable Canadian realizes that we have to do a lot of work in innovation, technology, research and development. Probably it is the initial funding that is stated in the budget. Funding is not an issue here.
The issues are these: how the bill is worded, what is missing in the bill, and what the modus operandi is of administering those funds. Is it clear? Is it transparent? Is accountability there? Those are the factors that are more important, of course, particularly with the rising costs of fuel and natural gas. It is becoming more important than ever before that we look for efficient, economical and cheap sources of energy in regard to fossil fuels, as the hon. member mentioned. Of course we want to develop efficient resources so that taxpaying Canadians and our children and grandchildren have enough resources to play with, to utilize in industry.
I very much agree with the hon. member that we have to invest in technology and research and development. That is why the topic of sustainable development is so important. However, we want to do the right thing in the right way. That is what we are asking the government: that it do the right thing in the right way.