Mr. Speaker, I am aware that the proceeds of the sale of Petro-Canada shares will go into something, but what, exactly? I would have liked the hon. member to go into a bit more detail.
They will go into the fine foundation that goes by the name of the Canada Foundation for Sustainable Development Technology. The hon. member ought to keep in mind, however, that the Auditor General was extremely critical because the members of this Parliament do not know what happens to the money. That is the problem with foundations.
If the government had wanted to achieve short-term objectives—that being the fundamental issue, since Canada's greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 20% since 1990—it would have taken the proceeds of this sale and put an environmental tax policy in place. This would have made it possible to achieve the objectives rapidly.
But no, they will take the money and put it into a nice foundation, where all sorts of research will be carried out, although solutions are right at hand. People wanting to buy a hybrid car are just waiting for the day this government gives a tax deduction or credit for its purchase. That is where the proceeds of the Petro-Canada sale could have gone.
We might have liked the wind power program to be expanded to bring it in line with the Americans' program. They have not ratified the Kyoto protocol, yet their program is more generous than the Canadian one.
So, although we are pleased with the sale, we would have liked to see the proceeds go directly into concrete measures that would enable us to achieve the Kyoto objectives rapidly.