Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. It's a pleasure to be here with this committee on behalf of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association to present some short thoughts here.
As a reminder, CEPA represents the 12 major transmission pipeline companies across Canada, which operate 119,000 kilometres of pipeline infrastructure that move about 1.2 billion barrels of oil every year and about 5.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas every year. The industry, over the next five years, has the potential to invest about $50 billion in pipeline projects. That's $50 billion that would come from the private sector. Existing operations in 2015 alone added $11.5 billion in GDP, 34,000 full-time-equivalent jobs, and $2.9 billion in labour income.
To enable the development of this critical infrastructure going forward, to provide investors and lenders the confidence they need, and because of the wealth that it can generate, we ask the Government of Canada, in its 2017 budget, to make a clear and bold statement about the importance of pipelines and the resource sector's contribution to Canadian employment, government revenues, and business investment. No single document is more carefully scrutinized by the economists in the investment community than the budget, and a strong message from the government would be most welcome.
Another essential component of mobilizing this investment is building public confidence in the regulatory process. This means that we must ensure that Canada has an effective and efficient process predicated on science, meaningful consultation, deep regard for the environment, and action on climate change. No federal process will be more significant in achieving this than the Government of Canada's regulatory review, which aims to continue to bring about confidence in the responsible development of Canadian resources.
CEPA supports and will be a full participant in this process. You've heard the rhetoric about why we may not need pipelines and new pipeline capacity; however, transmission pipelines are the safest way to move our natural gas and oil resources to market and have a 99.99% safety record. They are critical to the Canadian economy and to the future energy mix, domestically and across the globe.
Even as we enter a period of energy transition, there are three key points that are missing from the current debate around pipelines that I would like to stress.
First, global energy demand is going to increase, and Canadian oil and gas products have the potential to play an important role in that energy portfolio and to have an impact on global energy poverty.
Second, oil and gas production and exploration, especially exportation to new markets, contributes significantly to the Canadian economy and the capacity to fund social and infrastructure projects.
Finally, sufficient pipeline capacity is critically needed to ensure Canadians get the full value for their natural resources. We agree with the government that Canadians need to have confidence in the regulatory process that governs how pipelines are built and operated. These are shared goals of government, industry, and Canadians at large. What we cannot afford, however, is to miss the market opportunity and the economic benefits the industry brings. To do so would be a detriment to all Canadians.
Thank you once again for the opportunity to give a presentation as a supplement to our formal submission. I look forward to your questions.