It's reunion evening.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. It's also good to see Mike.
Thank you for the invitation to appear before the committee.
First, a few words on our association, the CEA remains the national voice and forum for the electricity sector across Canada. This year we celebrate our 125th anniversary. Our membership comprises generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity, as well as corporate partner members representing the full electricity supply chain. We also, as you know, have a very close relationship with the United States, owing to the integration of our north-south grid, where we enjoy an annual $3-billion electricity trade surplus. Electricity, in a word, is indispensable both to the quality of life of our fellow citizens and to the competitiveness of a healthy economy. As such, it should be seen as a strategic asset for our country.
Second, the electricity world is in a transformational period where two critical challenges, among others, are the need to renew core infrastructure to the tune of some $350 billion over 20 years and to address the exponential growth of cyber-attacks.
Third, electricity is Canada's clean energy solution. Over 80% of our emissions are already GHG-free, making us one of the cleanest communities in the world.
Fourth, besides helping to power Canada, we are also a leading economic driver, employing over 100,000 Canadians and contributing over $35.7 billion in GDP in 2014. In terms of our infrastructure rebuild, the Conference Board of Canada estimates that the resulting creation of indirect jobs will lead to another 100,000 jobs. In ReNew's annual top 100 infrastructure builds, electricity projects represent over one-third of the $161 billion in total investments.
Turning to our budget recommendations, Mr. Chairman, one recommendation calls for sustained federal leadership and support for clean energy infrastructure. Clearly, clean energy is the future, leading to economic, environmental, and social benefits, and the government's commitment to the Canada infrastructure bank, green bonds, and the low carbon economy trust are central. We expect that these new entities will also be open and accessible to members from our sector. In fact, we are working with responsible ministers to develop a focused framework for long-term transformational projects, which currently fall between the remit of regulators and government aspirations at both senior levels.
Another proposal addresses the serious threat of cyber-attacks, where the electricity grid is unfortunately a popular target. We are calling for the budget to clarify the funding envelope for both Public Safety Canada, and specifically the Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre. The previous government, as you will know, made considerable financial commitments to both, and we believe that it is crucial, given the threat, that the current government honour these intentions.
Two of our recommendations call for renewed funding for NRCan's Office of Energy Efficiency and for its adaptation platform. Again, the core funding for both of these platforms expires after this year, and we would respectfully recommend that they be renewed, as they create sizable savings for Canadian families and industry and reduce overall emissions.
A fifth recommendation encourages the government to implement its campaign pledge to establish electric vehicle targets for its vehicle fleet in the federal government and to place charging stations in federal parking lots. The substance as well as the symbolism of such action, we believe, is key to changing consumer and societal behaviour when it comes to transport emissions, which are almost one-quarter of our carbon footprint.
Another proposes celebrating Canada's 150th birthday in energetic style—pardon the pun—through the announcement of 150 energy innovation projects throughout 2017. Innovation is central to everything that we do and to the economy at large, and I think that the impact of pooling the work of the federal government and its agencies to support these projects would be invaluable.
Our final proposal deals with an emerging grid security risk—namely, geomagnetic disturbances that can lead, and have led, to outages on our grid. The science is still evolving in this area, so we recommend that the budget seriously consider funding in this area to enhance our understanding of these potentially devastating impacts.
In closing, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, we believe our recommendations try to strike a balance between national concerns relating to the economy and the environment in an integrated fashion, support for infrastructure renewal, and enhancing the protection and reliability of our grid.
I thank you for your attention and look forward to any comments and advice after our witnesses have made their presentations.