Thank you.
My name is Brenda Kenny. I'm the president of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association, and I very much appreciate the opportunity to present to the committee today. You have a more detailed brief from us, but I will look forward to answering any of your questions following this brief introduction.
I'll begin by setting the context. The Canadian Energy Pipeline Association represents companies that transport over 97% of all the oil and natural gas produced and used in Canada. We operate over 100,000 kilometres of pipelines in North America. Over the next 15 years, to meet the needs of Canadians, we plan to double our collective assets by investing $43 billion in the construction of new pipelines and other facilities. That number could grow to $85 billion if you include the Mackenzie and Alaska pipeline proposals. CEPA members will play a key role in implementing large-scale carbon capture and storage projects, or CCS, as well.
I am making this presentation today because I know our industry can be an active partner in stimulating the economy, provided the government takes the necessary actions to ensure private sector investment in pipeline infrastructure in the short term. I'll make three suggestions that should result in significant capital investment. This will happen in a way that produces spending on manufactured goods, job creation, and an expanded network of pipelines, all at no cost to taxpayers.
In brief, we need regulatory reform to facilitate the flow of stimulus spending, we need an industry-funded technology fund that would support downstream energy efficiency programs, and we need a tax-efficient mechanism to set aside moneys needed to ensure that pipeline assets are retired in an environmentally and economically sound manner.
With respect to economic stimulus, we at CEPA are concerned that the regulatory framework in Canada today is bogging down the private sector's ability to inject financial stimulus and investments in the Canadian economy. The federal regulatory framework for pipelines in Canada has evolved over many years. It has been a layering on of new laws and regulations atop existing ones, resulting in needless complexity. A simpler, more timely assessment and regulatory process would reduce costs, focus government resources on issues and outcomes, and make timelines more predictable, thereby encouraging investment, job creation, and spending on materials at a time when the demand is low and prices are favourable.
The task of regulatory reform has already begun through the Major Projects Management Office, an initiative we wholeheartedly support. We applaud the government for implementing the office and backing it up with senior-level leadership. This budget cycle marks year three of five in a $30 billion spending commitment to the MPMO and key agencies in government. It's imperative that we not lose sight of the strategic importance of regulatory reform and ensure the government, industry, and other stakeholders have a line of sight toward 2012, when the funding expires.
We have been encouraged by small steps toward regulatory renewal. Earlier this year I spoke to the Senate energy, environment and natural resources committee on changes being made to the Navigable Waters Protection Act. Change is occurring, but we believe we must continue to partner with government to build a robust, credible, clear, modern, and results-oriented regulatory system that promotes environmental best practice in Canada.
I turn now to the issue of pipeline abandonment. As an industry, pipeline companies have a long history of positive results on environmental protection. Effective financial planning and regulation spans the full life of a project, right through to the end of its use, and the pipeline industry has advocated for several years a tax-efficient environmental trust option that would afford a variety of opportunities to save better and sooner. This now I turn to in response to a recent decision by the National Energy Board, asking us to begin to implement these sorts of measures. We look to you for your assistance.
Finally--and this is in more detail in the brief, and I would be happy to respond to questions--we are asking for an industry-funded technology fund as part of Canada's climate change strategy, the money of which would go toward energy efficiency programs downstream and thereby, on a full value-chain level, actually achieve emission reductions for all of us.
Thank you.