Thanks, Pierre.
In 2018, mining contributed $97 billion to Canada’s GDP, employed nearly 630,000 workers and accounted for 20%, or $104.5 billion, of Canada’s total export value. Proportionally, mining is the largest private sector employer of indigenous peoples, and our oil sands members are among the top employers and partners of indigenous-owned businesses. The majority of the world’s public mining companies are listed on the TSX, and Canadian mining is broadly recognized internationally for excellence in sustainability, environmental stewardship and indigenous engagement.
Throughout this pandemic, our members’ top priority has remained the health and safety of their employees, contractors and the communities around which they operate. They are following the guidance of public health authorities, with employees working from home where possible, no non-essential travel, limited site access for non-essential personnel and the incorporation of testing protocols and distancing policies at the work site. The protocols our members have developed have resulted in virtually no cases of COVID in our sector. At the request of the Privy Council Office, our members were also pleased to share these practices to help enhance the safety of Canadians across all sectors. More detailed information on our members’ responses is available on MAC’s website, and we'd be happy to share with committee members a package of information if that would be of interest.
I’m also proud that MAC member companies have made contributions exceeding $40 million to food banks, women’s shelters, indigenous organizations and health authorities across Canada to help address the COVID crisis. These are in addition to the donation of tens of thousands of N95 masks, test kits and ventilators, amongst other materials, to address shortages of these critical supplies. In advance of our appearance before the committee today, we asked that a document be distributed that provides greater detail on these contributions, and I was made aware by the chair that this had been done.
The scale of disruption has been significant across many commodities, but most especially for our oil sands members. The week of March 9, which saw the launch of social distancing policies across Canada and the United States that triggered deep demand destruction for petroleum products, coincided with the decision of Saudi Arabia to flood global markets with oil.
Global demand for oil plummeted approximately 30% in a matter of months. At its lowest, oil traded on the West Texas Intermediate at negative $37.63 U.S. a barrel, while a barrel of Western Canadian Select sold cheaper than bottled water at $3.81 U.S. While prices have recovered since then, they remain low compared to recent averages, and are anticipated to remain low until social distancing measures are safely lifted and demand for these products returns.
Acknowledging this disruption, the Government of Canada has taken action to support the economy, including the Canada emergency wage subsidy. Originally announced to cover 10% of wages for small businesses, the program was expanded to businesses of all sizes and increased to cover 75% of the first $58,800 of an employee’s salary. MAC worked very closely with Finance Canada officials, supported by Natural Resources Canada, to ensure that member companies’ corporate and marketing structures were understood by decision-makers so that the program could deliver in the way it was intended. We can tell you that a number of our members have applied for this program.
On liquidity, the government announced the business credit availability program on March 16, and subsequently expanded it to provide $65 billion in support to small and medium-sized businesses. On May 11, the large employer emergency financing facility, or LEEFF, was announced to provide bridge financing to large businesses. A few of our members have applied to the BCAP. With respect to LEEFF, we're not aware of any member applications at this time, but admittedly only represent three producers out of hundreds of companies in the oil and gas sector.
Finally, the federal government has been balanced in providing relief to companies in the regulatory space by extending deadlines for corporate tax filings, compliance reporting such as for the output-based pricing system, as well as by temporarily postponing the development of all non-essential regulations. It is noteworthy that some regulations and laws, through their drafting and design, do not have release-valve mechanisms that enable ministerial discretion to address unprecedented events such as COVID-19. As a recommendation to this committee, MAC would encourage consideration of the inclusion of such measures in laws and regulations, both new and updated, going forward.
At a time when public health priorities rightly supersede all others, the federal government has taken a measured approach to address the social, economic and operational realities that COVID-19 has created for our industry.
In closing, I would like extend appreciation for the tremendous work of civil servants across the government, and most especially at Finance Canada and Natural Resources Canada, who have laboured tirelessly to develop, refine and implement the government's response to COVID-19. Much is owed by our country for their incredible service at this time.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. We look forward to answering any questions that members of the committee may have going forward.