Thank you very much, Madam Chair and members of the committee.
My name is Mark Scholz. I'm the president and CEO of the Canadian Association of Energy Contractors. We represent 97 drilling rig and service rig members on the front lines of energy security and transition that currently operate a fleet of 456 land drilling rigs and 755 service rigs in northeast British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and offshore Newfoundland.
Our workers and member companies will be in higher demand as development continues to grow for geothermal; helium; carbon capture, utilization and storage; natural gas; in situ hydrogen; lithium extraction from brines; and potash, to name just a few. We are excited to not only move forward with the development of emissions reduction technologies but also set a global standard and road map for developing sustainable resources, building upon our record as the world's premier responsible energy supplier of choice.
While we understand that Canada cannot respond in kind to the Inflation Reduction Act given our market size and structure, our association recommends that Canada work within its own policies to spearhead innovation in energy transition and give us the tools needed to lead decarbonization efforts, thus not only matching U.S. ambitions but also surpassing American climate mandates.
To that end, our association has developed a white paper that recommends that the federal government introduce a refundable tax credit for up to 50% of the capital investments required to accelerate the deployment of carbon-abating technologies in the energy services sector. Our members want to switch from diesel to proven less carbon-intensive technologies. This policy would significantly advance emission reduction in the industry, helping Canada meet its targets under the 2030 emissions reduction plan and outrun the U.S. on decarbonization within our sector.
We have provided a copy of that report to the clerk and the committee. We would urge the committee to consider its recommendations.
Most recently, we were encouraged to see some of our white paper concepts reflected in the federal government's 2022 fall economic statement. The government's continued support for the innovation and workers necessary to grow Canada's economy was indicated in the inclusion of the clean technology investment tax credit and the various labour provisions. Both these pieces are significant to remain competitive in Canada, as losing investments domestically directly affects the projects and sites we work on.
To further our competitive advantage, we recommend that the clean technology ITC be clarified to specifically capture drilling rig and service rig technologies for the 30% refundable tax credit and to provide a partial carve-out for drilling and service rig technologies that would significantly decarbonize projects by 20% to 30%. We want to decarbonize some of the highest-emitting technologies to draw on hydrogen, electricity and other clean energies. In particular, we want to move some of our rig technologies off diesel to lower-emitting natural gas when operating in regions without infrastructural capacity for a full net-zero technology transfer.
Labour was also a notable piece to us in the fall economic statement, as one of the greatest challenges facing our sector is the shortage of skilled personnel. We are glad to see the energy workforce's concerns and the proposed implementation of the sustainable jobs training centre and the sustainable jobs secretariat. Again, we would encourage the inclusion of our sector in this work as we lead the transition to cleaner energy sources.
With drilling activity and job creation finally on the slow rise after a seven-year slump, and knowing that the future of clean energy runs through our workforce, it is vital that we have enough workers to realize our emissions reduction goals. We need to ensure that we are neither losing our people to the other side of the border over better labour advancements nor losing investments and funding for our industry as a whole.
Madam Chair, I would like to thank the committee for this opportunity. I look forward to the questions.