Natural Resources Committee on Feb. 27th, 2014

[Jay Khosla]

Right.

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

For instance, we're studying the oil and gas sector, right? If I look at the map on page 3 of the deck that you have apparently prepared for this meeting, we have things like tidal and hydroelectric, electric and coal, and wind farms, thermal electric, uranium mining, none of which has anything to do with oil and gas, which we're studying. They're interesting to study and worthwhile, but that's not what we're doing. So why would you have covered such a broad range?

[Jay Khosla]

Chair, I apologize if we misinterpreted the purpose of this study. We're happy to talk about oil and gas, no question about that. The title of the study, as it was handed to me, is the cross-Canada benefits of developing the energy industry, with an emphasis on oil and gas.

[The Chair, Conservative, Leon Benoit]

That's correct.

[Jay Khosla]

So that was our take on the presentation.

Having said that, the energy sector in Natural Resources Canada does focus further than oil and gas and that's the purpose of the presentation.

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Indeed it does.

In your chart you refer to $32 billion in annual energy efficiency savings across the economy in 2010. That's compared to when?

I'd like to know to when does that compare, what's the reference point for that? Can you tell me how those savings were achieved? Are they the result of certain programs? Are they the result of technological changes? When and how?

[Jay Khosla]

Carol will be able to give you the exact reference on the study.

Again, I have to apologize to committee. If we misinterpreted the purpose of the study, that's our fault. We can certainly answer all the questions that are coming.

Carol?

[Carol Buckley]

Thank you very much for that.

That calculation is one that we make in the Office of Energy Efficiency and we use the same methodology that the International Energy Agency uses as well as five, six, or seven other countries: the UK, Germany, Australia, and so forth.

What we're trying to do is, we look at the economy and we know that this is measured over the past 20 years.

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Thank you, it's 20 years.

[Carol Buckley]

We're looking at the savings measured in 2010, but it's the result of all of the investments that have been made in the economy in energy efficiency since 1990. These are not just investments made by the federal government. They're investments made by all Canadians.

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Is there a reason why you chose 1990 as a reference point?

[Carol Buckley]

It's a pretty standard reference point in international assessment of energy efficiency.

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

It doesn't relate to Kyoto, for example?

[Carol Buckley]

No. We've been measuring since 1990, a group of countries who meet at the International Energy Agency in order to have consistency among countries and over time to compare the improvements.

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Thank you.

Can you give us a statement of the investment by oil and gas companies across the country, broken down by province, by how much is in each province?

Individual companies would be nice, but I mean the whole industry. Do you have that available?

[Jay Khosla]

I don't know if we do. I don't have it right before me. I don't know if anybody else here has the exact breakdown by province in terms of oil and gas.

[Martin Aubé]

I have some statistics for planned investments, for example in 2012, in billions by province for the energy sector.

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

That's helpful. I'm talking about both existing and planned investments, but planned investments will be helpful, so please go ahead.

[Martin Aubé]

For example, planned investment in billions for 2012 and this is just for energy, so it's not necessarily oil and gas. In Newfoundland, it's $34.4 billion; in Nova Scotia, it's $14.1 billion; in Alberta, it's $212.3 billion; and in British Columbia, it's $99.1 billion. I could leave this.

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

You say those are overall energy, they're not necessarily oil and gas?

[Martin Aubé]

That's correct. They're overall energy.

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

So it doesn't break them down.

Maybe you can get back to us with—

[Jay Khosla]

No, it was just handed to me so I can give you some examples.

Provincial economic benefits of oil sands, is that the kind of stat you're looking for?

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

It's not what I said.

I asked: what are the investments by the oil and gas industry, broken down by province?

[Jay Khosla]

Okay, we'll come back to that question.