:
Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to meeting No. 11 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry and Technology.
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on Thursday, January 20, 2022, the committee is meeting to study the Mandate Letters of the , the , and the .
Today’s meeting is taking place in a hybrid format, pursuant to the House Order of Thursday, November 25, 2021. Members may attend in person or remotely using the Zoom application. I note that some of our colleagues are participating in the meeting virtually. Those who are here in Ottawa are familiar with the health rules in effect, and I encourage them to follow them.
I am pleased to welcome the honourable François-Philippe Champagne, , the honourable Gudie Hutchings, , and the honourable Mary Ng,.
With them are Sara Wilshaw, Chief Trade Commissioner and Assistant Deputy Minister, International Business Development, Investment and Innovation at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, and Simon Kennedy and Francis Bilodeau, Deputy Minister and Associate Deputy Minister, respectively, at the Department of Industry.
Thank you for being with us today.
Without further delay, I yield the floor to Mr. Champagne, who will be followed by Ms. Ng and Ms. Hutchings.
:
Thank you. I will begin my speech again.
I was saying hello to our colleague Mr. Deltell who had joined the committee. It is a pleasure to see him again.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I am very happy to be with my colleagues once again to discuss my priorities as Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry of Canada. Since being appointed as Minister in January 2021, and since receiving my mandate renewal letter from the in December, I have worked above all else to create the conditions for the long-term economic success of Canada.
[English]
I'm also honoured to appear today alongside my two cabinet colleagues, Minister Ng and Minister Hutchings. I know they are equally engaged with our post-COVID recovery, which is why we are taking a collaborative approach to achieve our ambitious objectives and to use the tools at our disposal to support Canada's economic recovery and prepare us for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
I would now like to highlight a few of the ways that we are supporting Canadian industry during this unprecedented time in our country.
Setting the right conditions for industrial success and economic growth requires everyone to look towards the future.
[Translation]
However, we understand that in order to stay competitive, the Canadian economy needs continuous investments in innovation and in all industries and, of course, in all sectors. That is why our government is continuing to support large-scale research and development in Canada's traditional industries, such as the auto and aerospace industries, natural resources and agri-food.
[English]
We also know that the entire international community is still currently experiencing supply chain issues related to COVID-19. This is why my colleagues and I have been working closely with our counterparts and allies around the world, particularly in the United States, Europe and elsewhere to enhance supply chain security for key commodities such as critical minerals, batteries and semiconductors, and in crucial sectors like life sciences, manufacturing, transportation and defence. I will continue to raise these issues as I did on my last trips to Washington, D.C., Mexico and Europe.
Just as we have had the backs of families, small businesses and workers since day one of this pandemic, our government has worked tirelessly to support our industrial community to move toward a resilient, inclusive and low-carbon economic future. We are doing this because we know that growing our economy and protecting our environment go hand in hand.
We will do everything we can to combat climate change—something I know, Mr. Chair, you care very much about—lower emissions and promote Canadian ingenuity as we accelerate the transformation to a net-zero future. At the heart of this is the net-zero accelerator, an initiative through which we are making transformative investments worth over $8 billion to help decarbonize heavy-emitting industries, like steel and aluminum, and support innovation in net-zero growth sectors, such as zero-emission vehicles, batteries and clean tech. I'm sure members of the committee have seen this morning's great announcement from BASF to build a battery ecosystem in our nation.
I would also like to thank our officials. Mr. Chair, as you and all members know, we were able to deliver and help companies across the nation, thanks to the very dedicated civil servants and professionals we have.
This past summer, we made historic investments to decarbonize the operation of Algoma Steel and ArcelorMittal Dofasco, creating good jobs in communities like Sault Ste. Marie and Hamilton in the process. These investments will not only ensure that Canada's steel producers play a key part in our economic recovery, but they will also contribute meaningfully to our climate targets by reducing emissions equivalent to taking almost two million cars off the road. This is quite astonishing.
In 2018, we supported a joint venture between Alcoa and Rio Tinto called ELYSIS, which a number of colleagues will be familiar with. This will produce the world's first carbon-free aluminum right here in Canada.
[Translation]
Mr. Lemire, I think you are quite familiar with this initiative.
[English]
We are also supporting industry in their efforts to produce low-carbon concrete, so that Canada is a world leader in sustainable construction materials.
These efforts are just a few examples of a strategic, dedicated focus by our government to develop green supply chains that leverage our existing strengths and position us as a global leader in the green industrial transformation.
Canada will soon be a world leader in the production of green steel, green aluminum and green batteries.
[Translation]
Through these initiatives, we are positioning Canada to become a leader in the green industrial revolution that is sweeping the global economy.
[English]
We are also supporting the Canadian auto sector as it pivots towards zero-emission vehicle production. Through the mines to mobility initiative, we are building an entire new value chain and attracting anchor investments in critical minerals processing—again, this morning was a good example with BASF—battery cell manufacturing and zero-emission vehicle parts and assembly.
This is about the big picture. This is about the whole ZEV and battery ecosystem. This is about seeing where the market is going and positioning Canada in a leading role. This is about taking strategic, immediate action with a long-term vision.
[Translation]
I am very optimistic about our capacity to be that global leader. We have the necessary resources and we have the talent that is needed. We are a government that will continue to be ambitious and will seize the opportunity presented to us to secure a better future for Canadian workers and the planet as a whole.
[English]
Of course, all of these will be complemented by initiatives to help develop Canadian clean tech and to support small and medium-sized enterprises—like my colleague Minister Ng is doing every day with a lot of passion—that are active in the decarbonization efforts.
[Translation]
Colleagues, I would now like to talk to you about a subject we are all too familiar with in the wake of the global pandemic: the importance of bio-manufacturing in Canada.
While we are moving forward and leaving the COVID-19 pandemic behind us, we must also make sure that Canada is better prepared to deal with future threats and pandemics.
[English]
I know that your committee—I value the work of this committee, Mr. Chair. I want very much for everyone to know that—has already studied this issue and is well aware of that.
When this pandemic began, you will recall that Canada had no biomanufacturing capacity really suitable for a COVID-19 vaccine. From the first days of the pandemic, our government invested to quickly build up a flexible domestic capacity, and we have adopted a historic biomanufacturing and life sciences strategy. This has resulted in an investment of more than $2.2 billion to reinforce Canada's world-leading capabilities in life sciences and biomedical research and grow a vibrant, domestic biomanufacturing and life sciences sector that now supports thousands of good, middle-class jobs.
We have secured a new private sector manufacturing investment with companies like Sanofi in Toronto and made major investments in manufacturing capacities with partners like AbCellera in Vancouver, Resilience Biotechnologies, Medicago in Quebec City, and BioVectra in Prince Edward Island.
We've also strengthened the government-owned manufacturing capacity with the National Research Council, because it was important for me to have a public facility to be able to support our efforts in the future. We will continue to build on this foundation in the years to come.
In addition, we are proud that we have landed one of the first Moderna facilities outside of the United States. We know we can't predict the next pandemic, and we are still finishing the fight against COVID-19, but we can make sure that in the future we are not caught unprepared. This is about ensuring the safety and security of Canadians for generations to come.
I would like to switch gears to focus on the parts of our economy that might be less tangible than steel, aluminum or vaccines, but that are no less important. We are making sure that Canada has the capacity needed to develop and maximize next generation technologies, such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing. We are doing this with initiatives like the pan-Canadian artificial intelligence strategy and the national quantum strategy, both of which build on Canada's strengths in these emerging areas.
We also know that the future of our economy is undoubtedly digital. I know this committee cares very much about the digital economy. That's why we are working aggressively to get all Canadians high-speed access to the Internet, which I'm sure my distinguished colleague, Minister Hutchings, will speak to you about, because this is about connecting Canadians.
[Translation]
For Canadians to be able to prosper and profit from the digital economy, we know that they must have confidence that their data is secure and their privacy is protected.
That is why I will be introducing a bill in this session of Parliament to guarantee that Canadians enjoy world-class measures to protect their privacy and their data and that actors who break privacy laws are held effectively to account.
[English]
Of course, our legislation will establish a modernized privacy framework that enables responsible innovation in the fast-changing digital economy of the 21st century.
Our government wants Canadians to make the most of the digital economy. To do so, we must foster a high level of trust. This will include ongoing efforts to combat cyber-risks and ensure the integrity of Canada's critical system.
We also understand that copyright and intellectual property are vital to Canada's creative, social and economic well-being. By helping Canadians to better understand, protect and access IP, we are making sure that Canadians, entrepreneurs and researchers will have the tools they need to take advantage of new opportunities.
In conclusion, in our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we once again saw the tremendous vitality of the Canadian economy and the talent and ingenuity of Canadian workers across our nation. It is a fact I'm reminded of every day in my role as minister. This is why I'm so optimistic about our growth agenda.
In the very early days of the pandemic, when access to life-saving PPE was everyone's primary concern, manufacturers from coast to coast stepped up to retool their operations to help produce masks, gowns, face masks and hand sanitizer. When our focus shifted towards vaccines, we were able to make historic investments to help revitalize our long-dormant domestic biomanufacturing sector.
Even in the face of unprecedented uncertainty, our auto sector has started a historic pivot towards hybrid and zero-emission vehicles, and our booming tech sector continues to make Canada a world-class hub for knowledge and talent.
[Translation]
For these reasons and many others, Mr. Chair, I am very optimistic about our economic objectives and our economic program. We have the talent, the resources and the tools we need to succeed together.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
[English]
I'm thrilled to be joining all of you in person to talk about the very ambitious mandate as the Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development. It's terrific to be here with Minister Champagne and Minister Hutchings. It's terrific to talk to the committee about the mandate of our respective portfolios. Picking up on what Minister Champagne said, it is very much a team approach that we take, so it's terrific to be here.
My mandate is all about generating growth and prosperity through economic development and creating opportunities for businesses to start up, to scale up and to access those international markets all around the world, while anchoring that success in growth right here in Canada.
I'm working to expand opportunities through trade, while making sure that no one is left behind. This means opening access to new markets and championing opportunities for women entrepreneurs, Black and indigenous business owners, and under-represented entrepreneurs.
[Translation]
It goes without saying that over these last two years we have made historic investments to support small enterprises.
[English]
From the wage and rent subsidies, the CEBA loans, and the hardest-hit business recovery program to the recently extended lockdown supports, my mandate goes much further than this pandemic.
[Translation]
Despite an unbelievable and difficult year, the Canadian economy has grown by 4.9 per cent.
[English]
This is thanks to the resilience of our small businesses and to the strength of our trade relationships. Canada is a trading nation. Trade accounts for two-thirds of our economy and one out of every six jobs. We're the only G7 country with a trade deal with every other G7 country. Our 15 agreements give our businesses access to 1.5 billion customers and to over 60% of the world's economy. We are working hard to grow those opportunities.
Our trade relationships are made up of thousands of individual success stories, but let me just tell you about one that stretches from Nova Scotia to Virginia, U.S.A., demonstrating the strength of the relationship with one of our closest trading partners.
The company is CarbonCure. CarbonCure's groundbreaking technology injects carbon dioxide into concrete, taking harmful greenhouse gases out of the environment. It makes the concrete much stronger, which means that builders use less of it. CarbonCure's innovation improves quality, and it fights climate change by lowering the carbon footprint in every project. In Virginia, Amazon's HQ2 headquarters is being built, and CarbonCure is in that building.
This is just one of hundreds of construction projects across North America, indeed around the world, that's using this innovation. This is Canadian innovation, assembled on the east coast of Canada in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, using parts that are sourced by an American distributor. The CO2 tanks used in CarbonCure's process are manufactured by multiple U.S. companies, including Helget Gas of Omaha.
This is the human dimension of trade. It's prosperity for our innovators, for go-getters, for business people, and indeed, for workers. It's stories, just like this one, all taken together, that are adding up to this past year's economic growth and recovery.
There is a reason that the created this position that combines international trade and small business, and to achieve economic development. It is to make sure that our small businesses are getting every opportunity to grow, to succeed around the world and here at home.
[Translation]
We know that in order for our enterprises to be able to do business, we have to help them develop and create jobs here in Canada. That is why we have made historic, essential investments in Canadian small enterprises.
[English]
Just yesterday in Ottawa, the and I announced the launch of the Canada digital adoption program, also known as CDAP. It's a $4-billion investment to help Canadian SMEs grow their businesses online and to boost their business technologies. It's to help them be more competitive.
Let's take an example of an entrepreneur who owns a main street clothing store. This program is going to help that owner establish a digital store and bring the business online. It's adding the click to the brick. For those entrepreneur suppliers who manufacture those clothes in Canada, we'll support their digital transformation to help them develop and improve their order fulfillment system, or to digitize some of their production line.
CDAP is going to be a game-changer for many businesses, including those in rural Canada. I know my colleague will happily talk about what is being done in rural Canada for those businesses and entrepreneurs. It will help them access new customers in their communities across Canada and, indeed, help reach that global marketplace around the world.
This program will also support our goal to get young people into the workforce with the skills of tomorrow. It's going to create 30,000 job placements for young Canadians.
We know that when we grow our businesses, we mustn't leave anyone behind. When we do, our economy is at a deficit. We can't afford to miss out on the talent, diversity and innovation of our country.
This is why, since 2018, we've invested over $6 billion in the women entrepreneurship strategy. This will unlock financing and resources and develop a supportive ecosystem to help women entrepreneurs succeed. To date, this program has helped 5,000 women start their businesses and over 7,000 women entrepreneurs grow their existing businesses, and there is still more to come.
We're also investing to remove systemic barriers faced by Black entrepreneurs and business owners through a $265-million Black entrepreneurship program, developed with Black entrepreneurs for Black entrepreneurs to address the systemic inequalities that Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs have faced for far too long.
[Translation]
When there are more prosperous Canadian entrepreneurs, our communities and our economy prosper.
[English]
In closing, the government understands that a successful and inclusive recovery depends on our communities and our small businesses, and our willingness and ability as leaders to do things differently and to adapt.
Thank you so much for having me. I look forward to answering your questions.
[Translation]
Thank you for having me. I look forward to answering your questions.
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Thank you, Mr. Chair and honourable colleagues. It's wonderful to be with you today in this exciting committee.
[Translation]
I am honoured to appear before you as the Minister of Rural Economic Development, but foremost, as the member for Long Range Mountains in the magnificent province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
[English]
For those who don't know, my riding is what I call really rural. Believe it or not, it's the size of Switzerland and I'm honoured to represent over 200 communities. It even has amazing chocolatiers and I would argue they are way better than Swiss chocolate.
It's important to highlight this, as I understand the challenges rural communities face. However, more important are those communities' resiliency and strength.
Rural Canada makes up approximately 20% of our population and contributes nearly 30% of our country's gross domestic product, yet we know that Canadians living in rural and remote communities face unique realities, challenges and opportunities that must be considered when designing federal policies.
We have been listening to rural Canadians. We have heard consistently that the number one priority is to address the critical need for reliable and affordable high-speed Internet for all Canadians, regardless of where they live.
Since 2015, our Liberal government has made a total of $7.2 billion available for broadband connectivity. This investment is more than all other previous governments' investments combined. We launched a universal broadband fund in November 2020, supported by $2.75 billion to bring high-speed Internet to rural, remote and indigenous communities.
I'm proud to share with the committee that since 2015, we have approved programs and projects to connect 1.7 million Canadian households. By 2026 we will connect another 1.2 million Canadian families with better, faster and affordable Internet. We're investing in broadband projects in rural communities throughout Yellowhead County in Alberta, Eagle Ridge County Estates in Saskatchewan, and my home province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
I can assure members of this committee and all Canadians that we are on track to connect 98% of Canadians by 2026 and 100% by 2030. We know that high-speed Internet is essential for Canadians in rural and remote areas to connect with loved ones, use virtual health, manage their farm, do their banking, access online education, work from home or run their business.
I have also been tasked to lead the continued implementation of the rural economic development strategy. Our government will build on existing investments, improve community-level rural and data reporting and identify improvements that could be made to programs, policies and future investments all to benefit rural communities.
Simply put, we need to develop solutions that are outside the box and outside the Ottawa bubble. Our Liberal government is focused on building a stronger, more resilient and inclusive economy for everyone, from Canadians living in our smallest remote communities to those in our largest urban centres.
To that end, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Through the enhanced GBA+, rurality is one of the indicators for consideration in development of federal policy now. We will continue to make this GBA+ analysis an even better tool.
We're making sure that our decisions, policies and programs are tailored to smaller and remote communities to address critical rural needs like connectivity, housing, climate change, health, tourism, community infrastructure, immigration and, of course, the workforce.
We are aware of the lack of rural data, so we have established agreements with Statistics Canada to improve the availability of information. With this, our government is better equipped to deliver results for rural Canada.
We are committed to ensuring that the services your federal government delivers reflect the needs of Canadians from coast to coast to coast. Specifically, I have been directed to focus on issues surrounding rural transit, mental health services and housing, and the visibility and accessibility of all these services.
Working with my cabinet colleagues, I'm confident in our ability to make real practical differences in the lives of rural Canadians. It's for those seniors living in small towns who are an hour away from the closest grocery store without access to public transit. It's for the parents of a child who needs to see a specialist and the hospital is 10 hours away, or for the newly arrived family in Canada who wants to settle in one of our small, beautiful towns, but can't find a place to call home.
I'm also working with my cabinet colleagues to ensure that Canada Post service better reaches Canadians in rural and remote areas. Working with my colleague, Minister Ng, I'm designing a new futures fund for Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador, which supports local and regional economic diversification and employs place-based strategies.
All of these efforts are critical and timely as we all work together to end the fight against COVID-19 and build back an economy that works for everyone.
Rural communities are the backbone of our economy. When rural Canada succeeds, all of Canada is stronger.
[Translation]
To conclude, I welcome the opportunity to work with you as we strive to achieve progress for all Canadians living in the rural communities of our great and beautiful country.
[English]
I look forward to your questions, my friends.
Thank you.
I would like to thank all my colleagues, whom I am happy to see here.
I want to say hello to you, Mr. Chair, you being my neighbour in the Quebec City region. I paid close attention to the recommendations you gave and I will pay particular attention to the red square you may well show me when the time comes.
I would also like to thank all members of the committee for their collaboration.
And last, I want to say that I am humbled to take the place of the hon. , the member for Abbotsford. Of course, I don't want to take anything away from anyone, but I would nonetheless like to mention something.
[English]
Everybody will recognize that the honourable has been a really great, if not the greatest, international trade minister in Canadian history. Under his leadership, Canada signed 43 free trade agreements with 43 other countries. What a great achievement, and with a lot of modesty I'm following in his footsteps here in this committee.
[Translation]
I would first like to address a question with my hon. colleague from Shawinigan, whom I respect and admire. I listened very carefully to everything he said, particularly regarding investments in enterprises. We are both citizens of and members for Quebec, and, like him, I applaud the massive, long-term investment that will provide exceptional benefits for our province and our country over the next century.
However, when we look at the overall picture for foreign investment in Quebec and Canada, we unfortunately see that we are not at the top of the list. Canada is 30th out of 32 countries.
What does the minister intend to do to get us out of the cellar where we currently reside? We are 30th out of 32 countries, and that is not the Canada I love. I am sure the minister agrees with me.
I know he will rhyme off a litany of all the investments that have been made over the last six months, but our country, which was in a very good position, is now bringing up the rear.
What does the minister intend to do to increase foreign investment in Canada?
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Mr. Chair, I would first like to thank and say hello to my colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent, for whom I have great admiration, as I say publicly all the time.
Mr. Deltell, I have great admiration for you, because you make your contribution as a parliamentarian. I know the figures you are thinking of, my friend, but I will tell you that the facts on the ground are different. I have never got as many calls from companies that want to invest in Canada.
I'm going to give you a few examples, and not read off a litany of them.
Dow Chemical has decided to build in Alberta. This is the first carbon neutral polyethylene plant in the world. A blue hydrogen production plant is also being built in Edmonton.
We are now seeing a battery industry in which things are going to be speeding up, my friend. You are seeing only the tip of the iceberg of all these foreign investments that are coming, and that will result in the creation of an industry that didn't even exist in Canada. We are building something that never existed before, but that will generate profits for the next 20 or 30 years. The same thing is happening in the aerospace industry.
I am aware of the figures. I can tell my colleague that in collaboration with the Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, I am doing everything possible to be present on all platforms, because I think that stability, predictability and the rule of law are very important today.
You will see that the 2021 numbers on attraction are going to be pretty impressive. You know, as do I, that the proximity of resources, green energy, renewable energy and workforce talent that we have, from one end of the country to the other, contribute enormously to attracting companies to Canada.
We need only think of BASF. I would point out to my colleague that the people in that company had their choice of going where they wanted. I went to meet the president of the company in Germany a year ago, and they decided to come to Quebec because of what we are able to offer.
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Thank you, my friend and colleague. It's always great to see you, and it's been wonderful spending these seven years with you.
First, I want to give a little history lesson. The previous government used to have a rural secretariat, and our government believes in rural so passionately that we now have a fully funded department of which I am honoured and humbled to be the minister.
You're right in that the one-size-fits-all doesn't work in rural and urban. We've developed so many programs and policies all throughout our government in various systems, and the ones that you've touched on are so true, like housing. The housing program of 1,000 units in downtown Toronto is not the same as a rural 10 units in my part of the world, so we need to make sure that the programs are tweaked and actually have that rural lens applied to them.
For transit, as you know, we've just announced a rural transit fund, and I think folks have until the middle of March to get their applications in. Rural transit is different. There's no Uber in my province. I have communities that have no taxis, and I have communities that have no bus service at all, which is typical of rural and remote areas. We need to take our time and develop programs and policies that will be effective to address the needs, especially with climate change, especially for aging communities, but especially for growing our communities. We need to make sure that people see, as I do, that rural has phenomenal opportunities.
I think one thing we've learned from COVID-19 is that people want to move. In your home province of Nova Scotia, you've seen a boom in your population. People are moving to rural areas, so we need to help them build these communities and have a strong, healthy infrastructure, which includes housing, transit, waste water, roads and connectivity. If you have high-speed, affordable Internet, you can work from anywhere. That's the number one priority in my department. That's my number one priority. If you have have high-speed Internet, you can work from anywhere.
I challenge this committee when you're looking at other things to study and peruse to make sure you put a rural lens on it, please.
:
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I want to thank my colleague and friend for that.
At the numerous round tables around the country, every time there is a similarity of connectivity, housing, workforce, immigration, but then at each one you pick up other points, which, to me, tell the whole story of the opportunities in rural Canada.
One thing that we did with the rapid response stream was we put in place a pathfinder process. That was a program where the communities, the small Internet service providers, the large Internet service providers, not-for-profits, indigenous groups could reach out and get information to help them, because one thing we heard loud and clear from rural communities is that sometimes they have one or two workers in their...paid employees in their community building.... Sometimes they don't even have that, frankly.
This pathfinder service was a real light to show us how we can do better. The pathfinder service had over 2,000 inquiries. They did online webinars to help communities and Internet service providers get their application into the rapid response stream.
We hear loud and clear that the capacity in rural areas isn't there for them to avail themselves of the numerous government programs that are out there. That's something we're considering: how we can help with capacity.
We have done plenty in rural Canada. Again, it's making sure the rural communities have the tools they need to access all these various programs from coast to coast to coast.
As I talked earlier with my colleague on housing, I've spoken with on immigration on how we can apply that rural lens on getting people into rural communities. That's how we're going to grow our population. The infrastructure.... I remember a story years ago. I had a round table with some municipal leaders and they were saying, “Oh my golly, we were $10,000 short so we couldn't do one manhole.” That $10,000 meant more, or was as important, to the mayor of that small community than $10 million to a mayor.... We need to get the scope in place, too.
That's why I'm so proud of the work we do with the regional development associations, with the rural infrastructure fund, because that is small community buildings. That's the bridge in your hometown. That's the playground that you need to keep your community safe. That's the waste water and roads.
We have lots of programs. We need to just help communities get access to them better to have healthy, green, vibrant, growing communities, because that's where people are going to want to move to.