Natural Resources committee  I'm really not an expert in this area. I do not know the answer to that, but we could find the answer to that if you want.

Natural Resources committee  Yes. Thank you for the question. Rapidly, primarily, you have to look at the balance of the number of cases in which the provision of these acts would actually be triggered, and there are very few of them. Typically, for example, under the Fisheries Act or the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, there are very specific conditions that would trigger these things, so they're not triggered very often.

Natural Resources committee  I am the director general of the Office of Energy Research and Development. Investments in oil and gas make up only a part of our portfolio. We also invest in demonstrations of renewable energy and conduct more in depth research on the regulatory environment or security.

Natural Resources committee  Once again, the information we produce is made public. Beyond that, at the start of October Mr. Lavoie appeared before the BAPE. We provide our expertise in various ways, both through reports which are made public and by providing expertise at the request of various provinces or jurisdictions.

Natural Resources committee  The Program of Energy Research and Development was implemented in 1974, that is right after the 1973 oil crisis. This is a federal program whose direction is mandated by various federal government departments. No fewer than 12 government departments work on this program and do research in all manner of energy-related fields.

Natural Resources committee  "Mainly" means that for chemical products or under certain circumstances, for example on crown lands managed by INAC, there are some cases where a federal department might have a role to play.

Natural Resources committee  That's right.

Natural Resources committee  No, not in Quebec.

Natural Resources committee  No. That falls under the responsibility of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency.

Natural Resources committee  The act sets out specific conditions that trigger an environmental assessment. Those conditions have not yet been met.

Natural Resources committee  I am not an expert in the matter. Perhaps David can answer the question.

Natural Resources committee  I do not want to hypothesize on the kinds of roles we could play. What I can say is that the information that is produced is publicly available for both regulatory agencies and the provinces that have responsibility over the resources. As well, experts from the Geological Survey of Canada contribute their expertise in over 60 environmental assessments a year.

Natural Resources committee  To my knowledge, no assessment has been undertaken in accordance with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

Natural Resources committee  I'll drag you in, in a second here. For example, in the Fisheries Act, protecting marine habitats is a condition that could trigger an environmental assessment.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The goal of our presentation today is to provide you with a background, as you requested, on shale gas exploration and production in North America. We would like to give you an outline of the geoscience knowledge used to identify oil and gas potential, as well as a preliminary assessment of shale gas resources in Canada.