Environment committee  Thank you.

Environment committee  It was invasive, correct; it had gotten loose in the ponds off Garry Point Park in Steveston. If action hadn't been taken, it could have moved pretty quickly.

Environment committee  I will move over to Madam Commissioner. It's great to see you again, and I, too, echo the sentiments of everyone by saying good luck in your next endeavour. I'm sure you won't need that luck. The question I have for you is on the issue of the subsidies. Do you think that the various departments are using the same variables and are they using the correct variables in defining what is efficient or not efficient?

Environment committee  That it's meaningless.

Environment committee  You actually dealt with it.

Environment committee  I'd like to move back to you, Mr. Winfield. Like Mr. Fast, I am a member of Parliament from a riding in B.C. We had a situation with invasive species in Steveston that was quite dangerous. The concern I have about the department's action or inaction is that.... You mentioned something that I think is key, and that's collaboration with other stakeholders, with the province and, in the case I was going to talk about, the municipality.

Environment committee  It was a species from Brazil. I apologize; I don't remember the—

Environment committee  My frustration and the frustration of the local folks there is that no one wanted to get involved. We were pushing, and finally, working through someone in the minister's office, we were able to get the officials on the ground involved. Our view, echoing a bit of what the commissioner has written in some of the reports, is that the role of the department is to oversee and bring folks together.

Environment committee  Mr. Chair, thank you. I would like to follow up on both Mr. Fast and Ms. Dzerowicz's discussion of efficient tax subsidies. Something's efficient if you produce more with less, but you have two goals here. You have the goal of expanding the economy in certain sectors, which will actually be inefficient in a sense that it's going to produce more pollution.

Environment committee  I'd like to talk a little, if I have some time, Mr. Chair, about the microplastic issue. Like the chair, I was also a bit concerned about all the microplastic in our water. Perhaps we can have Madame Rochman elaborate a little bit on that.

Environment committee  How do we reduce and eliminate microplastic, or can we? Are we stuck with it? If we're stuck with it, how do we mitigate it?

Environment committee  Mr. Sandborn, if not plastic, what do we use? Mr. Valiante made the point that plastic is cheap. You have economies of scale with the petrochemical industry. So, if not plastic, what else? Where can we evolve?

Environment committee  I, as well, would like to thank the guests for their testimonies. Mr. Valiante, you talked about creating a different way to give coffee to folks when people are getting their coffee. Mr. Sandborn, I think you made the statement that encapsulates the discussion or debate on whether our strategy ought to be a reduction and reuse approach versus a recycling approach.

Environment committee  Is that what you meant when you talked about—I forget how you phrased it—monetizing plastic waste?

Environment committee  Mr. Sandborn, would you like to chime in?