Thank you, Chair and members of the committee, for your invitation to appear and speak today. I'd like to recognize that I'm working today on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin nation.
My name is Jill Baker. I am the vice-president of regulatory affairs and policy at the Canadian Nuclear Association, also known as the CNA. With me today is our regulatory affairs director, Sorouche Mirmiran, who will be joining the discussion if necessary during the Q and A portion of the meeting.
Just so you know, the CNA represents the clean nuclear energy companies that are responsible for nuclear energy production, mostly in Ontario and New Brunswick, as well as the supply chain that supports the industry. We have approximately 100 members across Canada. We also represent the Canadian uranium fuel cycle, including world-class and state-of-the-art uranium producers in Saskatchewan and processing and fuel fabrication facilities in Ontario.
The association also represents industries that produce and use important nuclear substances for industrial purposes across Canada as well as in the production and use of life-saving medical isotopes. Our association aims to promote Canada's worldwide leadership in both nuclear science and technology innovations. Currently, the industry employs over 76,000 people in direct and indirect jobs across the sector in Canada, and this is growing.
We want to take the opportunity today to draw your attention to the importance of the nuclear sector in climate change and to let you know what our position is, at a very high level, on the importance of water.
The study of fresh water and the impacts of climate change on this important resource being undertaken by the committee is both very timely and important. The sustainable protection of Canada's freshwater resources is a duty shared by all of us—individuals, governments and associations such as ours. Our members are committed to the health of the public and the protection of the environment, including the sustainable protection of fresh waters in the face of climate change and the stresses it imposes on the environment.
Today I would like to very briefly share with you where the nuclear industry and the members of the CNA stand on fresh water and sustainability.
The Canadian nuclear industry is federally regulated by our life-cycle regulator, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, as well as Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada. We commit to excellence by meeting or exceeding all relevant legal requirements to which we subscribe. We hold ourselves accountable to prevent pollution throughout the robust management of emissions and effluents. The industry's commitment to environmental protection includes the application of sustainability principles and the participation and engagement of indigenous communities.
Nuclear energy plays a critical role on our path to net zero and to fight climate change both domestically and internationally around the world. At COP28 last December, nuclear energy was recognized for its key role in reaching net zero by the U.S., Canada and multiple other countries. Nuclear energy is recognized by this federal government as part of the pathway to net zero in Canada. We must do what we can to ensure that Canada demonstrates leadership toward this pathway.
Furthermore, nuclear energy was recognized as a source of clean dispatchable baseload power, with benefits for energy security and for achieving the United Nations sustainable development goal number seven, which is affordable and clean energy. Canada is a top-tier nation in both environmental protection and nuclear energy, and we need to demonstrate leadership towards this path in Canada and across the globe by the following actions.
Canada can do so by implementing policies that support deployment of nuclear energy and other large-scale sustainable solutions, such as the reduction of overlap and duplication amongst provincial and federal entities and their policies and regulations. Across the globe, leadership towards a pathway to net zero could be achieved by delivering energy security and affordable clean energy to reduce the geopolitical pressures we have been seeing in the last two years.
We advocate that this committee continue its work to support Canada in protecting fresh water in a sustainable manner while remaining cognizant of the important role that nuclear plays in our shared commitment to fight climate change and our pathway to net zero. Beyond the objectives of this committee's focus today, we advocate that you and all interested parties work together to develop and deploy frameworks and solutions that will help individuals and organizations that are capable of addressing the challenges brought by climate change on not only fresh water but also our natural systems and our healthy ecosystem.
With that, the CNA and its members would like to thank you for your time. We would be pleased to answer any questions you may have.