Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague for his comments. I think they were most relevant.
He spoke at length about wind energy. Statistics on this type of energy tell us that there is a real wind energy boom in the world. They also show that, over the last six years, it has expanded by 30% annually on average and that Germany is the country where wind energy is the most popular.
We are not talking through our hats here. We are talking about a pollution-free energy, an energy for the future. Statistics show that, right now, Germany produces 8,753 megawatts annually and that Canada merely produces 207 megawatts.
This is outrageous. We are so far behind. Why do we fail to invest in wind energy? It is because, like my colleague just said, we have decided to invest in oil.
But now we have to modernize. We are in 2002 and we should prepare for the future. As far as the environmental issue is concerned, in Canada, we have clearly taken no significant steps for the ongoing improvement of the environment, and I can talk about this matter because I have been here for nine years, since 1993, and I was a member of the environment committee for three years.
It is not because we cannot afford to look after the environment. We have surpluses of about $40 billion a year. The funds are there. My colleague asked for only $700 million for work and research on wind energy; this is a paltry amount compared to $40 billion a year.
Could my colleague tell us more about wind energy? He said that they produce wind energy in his region. However, in order to raise the awareness of our colleagues on the other side, it would be interesting to hear more of what he has to say on that industry.