Thank you, Nancy.
I would like to acknowledge that I am speaking from the traditional territory of the Anishinabe, Haudenosaunee, Ojibwa and Chippewa peoples. This territory is covered by the Upper Canada treaties.
Perhaps some members are surprised by how much they're hearing about the importance and reliability of propane throughout the testimony at this committee. The fact is, as Nancy pointed out, propane is a very important source of energy for Canadians. Over 100,000 homes in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada use propane as their home energy source to heat their homes and to cook their meals, representing approximately half a million Canadians who rely on propane in their daily lives.
However, propane is relied upon far beyond residential use. For example, 25% of propane that is marketed in Ontario is used in hospitals, schools and businesses. In Quebec, that number rises to 45%. Total daily demand for propane in eastern Canada continues to rise. In Ontario, the average daily demand is nine million litres, approaching 16 million litres during times of high demand. In Quebec, daily demand is three million litres, with a peak of almost five million litres, and Atlantic Canada uses one million litres daily.
Propane is clean, affordable and readily available. Propane is harmless to land, to air and to water. It can greatly reduce the use of carbon-intense fuels in indigenous, rural and remote communities. Many of these communities spend hundreds of millions of dollars on remediating diesel spills when those resources could be used to build more housing, community centres and other important infrastructure.
In addition, an off-oil program across Canada could immediately reduce GHGs by 38%, just by switching to propane. The CPA has been calling for changes to the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act that would see an exemption for low-emission propane in farming activities. Changes to the GGPPA are also needed for remote power plant generator operators, which would provide indigenous and remote communities a real choice for cleaner energy.
In short, Canada's propane industry has much to offer Canadians as a safer, greener and more accessible energy option. However, without Line 5, providing Canadians with this critical source of energy would be significantly more difficult.
Canada's propane industry joins with the countless Canadian voices who have come together to support the safe, continuous operation of Line 5, the closure of which would have catastrophic economic impacts to Canada.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.