Natural Resources committee  Unfortunately, we haven't, and if we'd had more time in this preparation, we would have been able to do more. Having said that, one of the things to remember, whether we're talking about shale gas or in fact the oil sands, is that the technology for this continues to improve dramatically in very short periods of time.

Natural Resources committee  No, we haven't. Sorry about that. We took quite a look at NB Power when the NB Power MOU with Hydro-Québec went in, and New Brunswick itself has a huge issue because the plants in New Brunswick that are currently producing fossil-fuel-generated electricity are old. They need to be replaced; they need to be taken offline, and that is going to be a cost to New Brunswick taxpayers.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you. Hello, Jack. I have couple of points. One, as I mentioned to Scott earlier, if you're handing out money in P3, then this is the project and this money should go that way. As far as the loan guarantees are concerned, the business plan is in place. It may come as a surprise, but these companies and this project will be making money.

Natural Resources committee  When we talk about the use of our non-renewable resource revenues, they should be used to pay down debt. But in this particular case, by investing it in a renewable resource--one that you're going to have a return for decades and generations to come--that is a smart use of that money.

Natural Resources committee  I didn't hear the question, except for the fact that you disagreed with everything I said.

Natural Resources committee  Hi, Scott. It's nice to see you. If there is a P3 project that fits the bill, this is it, because as you say, it's green. With a business plan of $6.2 billion, it's huge. As far as its impact on Atlantic Canada and its future impact across the country is concerned, this is a very large project even though the megawatts are small.

Natural Resources committee  For starters, it would shut down the Holyrood station, which I believe is currently burning bunker C. It would also take off line approximately 10% of what we're now generating in Nova Scotia through coal fired.... Once this project goes forward and we take a look at the next project, we can be completely green in Atlantic Canada.

Natural Resources committee  As I mentioned, if you take a look at security of supply, the fact remains that we are powering New York when Ontario is talking about building new nuclear plants. Should we not be looking at an east-west power grid so that in fact the hydro power generated in this country is supplying Ontario markets?

Natural Resources committee  Okay. Basically, the Province of Nova Scotia's reliance on coal is the result of federal-provincial energy security and economic development policies of decades ago when coal was king in Cape Breton. On the island of Newfoundland, the Holyrood plant continues to burn, yet that province sits on the largest mega hydro project existing in North America today.

Natural Resources committee  Good afternoon. My name is Barbara Pike, and I'm the vice-president of the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, commonly known here as AIMS. Thank you for the invitation to speak to your committee. As a quick background, AIMS is an independent, non-partisan public policy think tank.