Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I thank the members of the committee for inviting our organization and giving us an opportunity to speak on the important issue of clean technologies in Canada.
Vision Biomasse Québec is a group of around 20 organizations from the co-operative, municipal, business, environmental and rural development sectors. These organizations have chosen to unite with a common objective, that of promoting an exemplary and efficient sector of forest biomass heating in Quebec. We participate in the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge in regards to the use of forest biomass for heat production through communication and awareness-raising activities. We also contribute to structuring the sector by taking part in political representation activities.
Some time ago, these organizations drew up for the renewable energy sector a vision full of promises that showcase its strong potential. They've identified a potential for heating conversion of buildings in Quebec, outside large urban centres, which could make it possible to replace 400 million litres of fossil fuels annually; recover one million metric tons of residual forest biomass annually; avoid the emission of one million metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year; produce 4,000 gigawatt hours of renewable energy annually; improve Quebec's trade balance to the tune of $225 million; and create 12,500 jobs in the construction phase and 3,600 permanent jobs subsequently.
These numbers could certainly be increased if we applied this vision to all of Canada and even more if we added industrial sectors that might consider conversions, for example cement and steel plants.
Vision Biomasse Québec fervently believes that forest biomass as an energy source is a winning clean technology for Canada. The use of post-cutting, post-processing and post-consumption forest residues for direct heating uses is the most efficient mode of energy conversion compared to cogeneration and the production of biofuel or hydrogen. The yield being higher, the carbon debt is reduced and the GHG balance is further improved. Its use in the bioenergy sector would only serve, in this case, to cannibalize a more efficient use of the basic resource.
Being abundant in Canada, forest biomass is a local resource and its increased use as a replacement for fossil fuels will improve the trade balance of several provinces by reducing the value of imports, while allowing energy security and independence.
The direct heating from forest biomass sector remains little known in Canada, however. Most of the market is outside the country. It is essential to develop the domestic market, because millions of tonnes of forest biomass could be sold locally to create renewable energy and thus contribute to the country's energy transition.
A promising avenue for the domestic development of the sector can be found in remote communities. Some of the communities in the northern regions of many provinces and territories have already converted to using local forest biomass for heating.
However, government funding programs are essential for these projects to ensure they are successful and can act as a showcase and thus support the healthy development of the sector. The federal programs currently in place to support these conversions should therefore be maintained and could be expanded and enhanced to accelerate conversions and the country's energy transition.
A number of potential projects fall through because the Treasury Board doesn't consider that biomass reduces GHG emissions, and so funding possibilities are limited. It would be useful if the various departments consulted each other in order to standardize the status of the renewable energy that is biomass.