Mr. Speaker, I’m concerned about more and more instances of news reports about the supply of oil, which we all know is also getting more and more expensive.
Mr. Speaker, the International Energy Agency is the energy forum for 27 industrialized countries, including Canada. They share energy information, coordinate their energy policies and cooperate in the development of rational energy programs. One of the objectives of the organization is to maintain and improve systems for coping with supply disruptions.
On Thursday, May 22 — the very day that our Minister of Finance was presenting the budget to this House — the International Energy Agency announced that it is studying depletion rates of oil at about 400 oil fields around the globe in its first-ever study of world oil supply. Our Chief Economist Birol said, “We are entering a new world energy order.” The study will be released in November but was prompted by concern about the volatility of world oil markets and uncertainty about supply levels.
Obviously, we know what’s happening to the price here. It was recently $135. I’m not on top of it this week. It’s of great concern and relevance to our residents. We currently depend on oil for the transport of our food and energy supplies and, really, for the basic survival of our residents and the systems of support we provide to them. I’m concerned about the planning we have done to ensure that our capacity for dealing with significant disruptions in oil supply is in force. I understand there’s an energy planning coordinating committee in most communities but that we have done in the coordinator positions.
I’d like to ask the Minister of MACA some questions about this, this afternoon. Thank you very much.
