Hon. Percy Mockler: Honourable senators, my question to the Leader of the Government in the Senate is concerning the two billion trees to be planted. In January, the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimated that this program would cost $5.7 billion. Given that Natural Resources Canada, or NRCAN, and the government said very little progress has been made on this program to date, and that you have just had to rework your original plans, is this still projected, as per the government, that it would cost $3.16 billion? Who is right?

Senator Mockler: Leader, a lot of questions are unanswered. I’m asking you if you could relay this to the government and inform Canadians and the industry that creates many hundreds of thousands of jobs: Given that Atlantic Canada is a leader in tree planting, that it does not lose significant amounts of forest to fire and pests, that this is a 30% increase in tree planting levels across Canada and that this effort will require investments to seed and nursery production, how is the government factoring the value that Atlantic Canada can bring to this program? What is this government proposing in terms of how to allocate these funds to Atlantic Canada given the different tenure systems across the country that have impacts on industrial interests, private landowners and Crown land?