Thanks so much, Chair.
Thanks to all of my colleagues for having me today. I'll say hello from my farm near Two Hills, in exactly the region that Adam Waterman described earlier.
In the spirit of co-operation, I might just give some unsolicited advice to my colleagues on this committee. After hearing the scale of the crisis and the outsized impact of the oil and gas sector on the Canadian economy, I do hope that this committee will do more than one meeting about this critical sector and all of the workers, families and communities it impacts.
ARC Financial says that after-tax income for explorers and producers will drop 96% between 2019 and 2020. In the last two months, active rigs dropped 92%, while thousands of oil and gas workers lost their jobs. They continue to face precarious futures. Of course, that adds to the nearly 200,000 people who have lost their jobs since 2015.
The bottom line is that programs can't help workers if businesses can't or won't actually get the support. You will know, I hope, that in the beginning of April, Conservatives called for the approval of projects already in the regulatory queue at the end of their stages, and also for emergency liquidity measures.
With that in mind, Tristan, I did notice your careful wording—we all do that, I know—about EPAC supporting the intention of the loans to oil and gas employers. Of course, the $750-million methane reduction fund and the small oil and gas business loans through BDC were announced 41 days ago. Just last week, the terms and conditions were announced for the large-employer financing program.
Tristan and then Adam, do either of you know a single company that has accessed those programs?