Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon, honourable members.
My first role out of university was as a development officer in Cape Breton. I focused on creating new opportunities as the mining industry in the region shut down. I brought this same focus to my role as CEO of Home Depot, where we successfully created 20,000 new jobs nationwide.
I am now focused on helping to realize the potential of the clean-tech economy in Canada. This passion led me to found NRStor. I am proud that we are the co-developer of the Oneida battery storage project, with the Six Nations of the Grand River. Together, we are creating the largest battery energy storage project in Canada and one of the largest in North America by an indigenous-led project.
In 2017, NRStor received $2.1 million in funding from SDTC for its Goderich project, a partnership with Hydrostor. This was the first commercialization of long-duration compressed air energy storage in the world. Two years later, in 2019, I was approached to serve as SDTC's chair. I informed the minister, the deputy minister and the Ethics Commissioner that I was the CEO of NRStor and that the project had received SDTC funding in 2017. I accepted the appointment after completing my full disclosure and conflict-of-interest review.
Let's be clear. My direct involvement in the clean-tech industry was precisely what Parliament intended when it created SDTC in 2002. Section 11 of the founding act of SDTC requires board members to be people with direct knowledge of sustainable development technologies.
As a public member of numerous boards since I was 38, I am extremely familiar with conflict-of-interest policies. I recused myself from the discussion and vote regarding 14 companies when there were real or perceived conflicts of interest. I had no direct or indirect investment in any companies funded by SDTC, other than NRStor, during four and a half years there.
Not only did Parliament want people with expertise on SDTC's board, but its choice to enshrine this in its founding act has worked. The board and its sector expertise have helped make the right investment choices.
On the recent Global Cleantech 100 list, there are 12 Canadian companies, and 10 of the 12 received funding from SDTC. We are punching above our weight. I believe the success of the projects SDTC has funded demonstrate that the board, under my leadership, has done a lot that is right.
I resigned as chair of SDTC's board on December 1, not because I have done anything wrong but because I believe the organization's work is too important to be compromised by the distraction that these allegations have caused. Board processes can and should be reviewed and updated from time to time. Renewal and improvement are both good things, and we did this routinely at SDTC.
Now, think back to the early days of COVID-19. The World Health Organization had declared a global pandemic. The borders were closed. We were terrified of the impact on the clean-tech sector. The young organizations in our portfolio needed our help to survive. If they did not, the incredible talents and know-how vital to Canada's future would be lost.
Under the COVID-19 emergency payments, no company received preferential or different treatment from any other company in SDTC's portfolio. This emergency funding was entirely different from the initial approval of individual projects. These projects had already received funding—in NRStor's case, since 2017, two years before I joined the SDTC board.
As a board, we received legal guidance that granting the envelope of emergency funding to already approved projects meant no individual board member was in conflict of interest. The legal advice is recorded in the board minutes.
In approving emergency funding to all 126 companies in the portfolio, the board did not consider or discuss any companies individually. We did not even have a list of the recipients when the vote was taken. We acted in good faith.
Our entire focus was on the well-being of the portfolio companies during an unprecedented global crisis. At that time, we were lauded for taking proactive measures to help secure these companies' future, including a thank you letter from the minister.
To be clear, the $217,000 NRStor received as a COVID payment from SDTC was directly invested in the Goderich project, a limited partnership distinct from NRStor itself. These monies are accounted for as part of the project, and the expenditures were verified by audited statements prepared by PwC. No money went to me or my salary.
In fact, I did not receive a salary from NRStor in 2020. This is the true nature of Canadian start-up culture.
I truly believe in the potential of the clean-tech sector to create jobs and transform our economy. This is what drives me.
Thank you. I'm happy to take your questions.