Environment committee  To say we can't meet those targets is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Environment committee  Can I address that? I'm sorry, I just meant that I'm supportive of the Government of Canada participating in the Kyoto process, because there are lots of reasons to be engaged in this process besides specific emissions targets.

Environment committee  I'm just saying I don't have the professional expertise to answer that question.

Environment committee  We have lots of technology. Technology is not the only solution. There are many behavioural adjustments and institutional adjustments. There are lots of solutions; government simply has to enable them.

Environment committee  So why don't we start right there?

Environment committee  Yes, three months of the year, that's right.

Environment committee  In terms of addressing a very critical but small component of climate change, I'm very much supportive of this bill, but as I said, it addresses only a very small part of the issue. As I mentioned earlier, and as I responded when I was asked to be a witness, my expertise is not in terms of greenhouse gas reduction.

Environment committee  Let's just make it sexy to ride a bike.

Environment committee  Well, I'm growing grapes in southern Alberta right now.

Environment committee  So certainly, in terms of the extra heat and the productivity of our force and our fields--our farms--potentially, agriculture could be extended further north in Canada. But there is a serious constraint, at least in the prairie provinces, in terms of whether the water will be available.

Environment committee  With all due respect to Mr. Godfrey, I don't think we can isolate mitigation from adaptation. The degree of adaptation that will be necessary will depend entirely on the extent to which we're able to slow the rate of climate change. So we can't consider one without the other. The fact that Bill C-288 is exclusively focused on a single paragraph in the Kyoto accord simply underscores the fact that there is a policy vacuum at the federal level and that we're not developing a comprehensive strategy for climate change.

Environment committee  First of all, I have to acknowledge that my expertise is certainly not in the technologies by which greenhouse gases are controlled, although I share a building at the University of Regina with some of Canada's experts in that field. They tell me, as Mr. Cleland said, that this technology has advanced significantly in recent years such that it's probably worthy and it's probably necessary that we at least attempt to achieve the targets that are specified under Kyoto.

Environment committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and members of the committee. I appreciate this opportunity to participate in your study of Bill C-288. The preamble to this bill accurately describes climate change as one of the most serious threats facing humanity in Canada, one that poses significant risks to our environment, economy, society, and human health.