Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee members, for this opportunity. Welcome to Edmonton.
My name is Lynette Tremblay and I am the Director of Government Relations.
As you mentioned, with me is our Executive Director, Mark Plamondon.
Alberta's Industrial Heartland Association is a non-profit economic development organization of five municipalities that represent a 582-square kilometre, $40-billion, value-added energy cluster, here in the metro Edmonton region.
Our cluster model minimizes industry's environmental footprint, makes use of petrochemical by-products and maximizes the benefit for Canadians.
Petrochemicals touch every corner of our country and every sector in our economy.
The petrochemical industry creates fertilizers for potato crops in PEI and packaging to keep Ontario and Quebec dairy farmers' products fresher longer. The industry provides lightweight, durable plastics used in auto manufacturing to make buses and cars more fuel efficient.
Whether a child visits the B.C. Children's Hospital in Vancouver or the Stollery, here in Edmonton, they are receiving first-rate medical care. This is in thanks to petrochemicals that make IV bags and sterile tubing that deliver life saving blood and medicine, stethoscopes, aspirin and even diapers.
The tech supercluster in Waterloo wouldn't exist without petrochemicals, which make up over half of the components in smart phones, tablets and computers.
Canada imports $53 billion in petrochemicals each year, mainly to British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. We have the resources, the talent and the opportunity to manufacture more of those products here at home.
In fact, we have the chance to attract $30 billion in new investments to Alberta's industrial heartland alone, by 2030, but only if we have a competitive investment climate. We have some work to do on that front.
The competitiveness gap between Canada and the United States has been growing over the past decade, with the introduction of targeted investment attraction programs and tax initiatives south of the border.
The implementation of 100% immediate capital cost depreciation in the U.S. has been the most recent and significant measure. Over a 10-year period, that measure alone is forecasted to increase GDP by 3%, increase capital stock by 8.3%, and boost the wage rate by 2.5% and the number of full-time equivalent jobs by 575,000.
But for us, it's not just about numbers. It's about the contribution to our communities and about the people who depend on these high-skilled, middle class jobs that will exist for decades after these facilities are built.
For example, the $200,000 Shell Skills Centre at Fort Saskatchewan High School will help us get more youth interested in the trades and help close the skills gap. Cenovus' $200,000 donation to 22 libraries and 19 aboriginal communities will help promote learning and literacy. Inter Pipeline's polypropylene facility in the heartland—the first ever in Canada—is bringing us new technology, construction jobs and much needed work for local steel fabricators, like Dacro and Cessco.
For every job created in the heartland, five more jobs are created in the broader Canadian economy because of the multiplier effect of the petrochemical sector. Not only do these investments bring jobs and community benefits, but petrochemical production in Canada, from clean, natural gas liquids, will result in lower global greenhouse gas emissions, than if produced elsewhere from oil or coal. Moreover, production of these necessary products at home will reduce the need to import them, further reducing global emissions.
This is the future of our energy economy in Canada. It will help lead the world in the transition to a lower-carbon economy. We have to be willing to work together, at all levels of government, to ensure the jobs and economic benefits end up here in Canada and not across the border. With the change in government and subsequent environmental policies in the United States, it's more important now than ever that Canada ensure these facilities are built here, where we are environmental leaders.
To that end, our recommendations for increasing and extending the accelerated capital cost allowance and modifying the strategic innovation fund are two measures that can have an immediate and significant impact on our ability to attract investments in Canada.
We look forward to your questions. Thank you for your time today.