Natural Resources committee  Clearly, the advance so far in this field has been largely concentrated in Europe around the North Sea and in China. There is extensive experience there. They've already installed amounts that are far beyond the discussions that we've been having here. The plans in Europe, in particular, are to employ about 300 gigawatts of new electrical energy over the next 10, 15 or 20 years.

Natural Resources committee  Thanks very much, Mr. Chair and the committee, for providing this forum to address the potential for really massive offshore renewable energy development off our Atlantic coast. It's a scale of opportunity that, quite frankly, has been underestimated. Realization of the opportunity will depend on many factors, but one essential precondition is an appropriate regulatory framework, and hence the relevance of Bill C-49.