Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
It's great to be back before the committee to talk about the main estimates. As you've pointed out, I'm joined here by my deputy minister, Cassie Doyle, and Richard Tobin, my assistant deputy minister.
Mr. Chair, as I begin, we're all very much aware of the enormous economic growth of the natural resource sector right across Canada, even more specifically within the energy sector, which is providing tremendous benefits to Canadians.
In 2006 our natural resource sectors contributed 13% toward Canada's GDP and accounted for nearly half of our domestic exports. The natural resource sector contributed $91 billion to Canada's trade surplus, and that is one of the reasons, Mr. Chairman, that the Canadian economy remains so strong today.
Along with this rich resource endowment also comes an enormous responsibility to ensure that we develop our natural resources in a sustainable way. I believe, Mr. Chair, that we can build our country's strengths in a responsible manner, with innovation and the ingenuity of the Canadian people, a world-class investment climate, and open and transparent regulatory systems.
There are three strategic objectives, Mr. Chair, that must drive our natural resources. The first one is economic competitiveness, where natural resource sectors are productive and competitive so they continue to contribute to the well-being of Canadians. Equally important is environmental responsibility, where Canada is a world leader in responsible development of the use of our natural resources. The last one is safety and security, where knowledge of our resources and our country strengthens the safety and security of Canadians.
Let me begin with economic competitiveness. Rising commodity prices and increasing global demand have benefited most of the natural resource sectors. The future of Canada's competitiveness relies on our ability to apply knowledge and innovation to our strategic assets and to our rich resource endowment. As you know, the competitiveness of Canada's natural resource sector is built on innovation. These are knowledge-based sectors, and our government is focused on fostering science and technology. The significant science and technology expertise at Natural Resources Canada sharpens the competitive edge of Canada's resource sectors.
Mr. Chair, the forestry sector remains an important contributor to our economy. Despite an increasing number of challenges, including the downturn in the U.S. housing market and the rise in the Canadian dollar, here again innovation and knowledge will be key in helping enhance our competitiveness in this sector. Our government has created a long-term competitive forest industry initiative that supports innovation and assists the forest sector in moving towards higher-value products and exploring new markets. We have led the creation of the world's largest public-private partnership in forest research and development--FPInnovations.
Mr. Chair, recently this committee heard from witnesses, including FPInnovations, regarding the unique opportunities and the challenges facing the forest industry. Your committee has also suggested convening a forestry round table. In a response to this, I will be co-hosting a forestry round-table discussion on the paths to a prosperous future of innovation and markets, in conjunction with the Forest Products Association of Canada and FPInnovations, on May 13. We did have some discussions with both of these industry groups, seeking guidance from their members, and it was believed that a focused approach would be the best way to bring all the stakeholders together to have a focused, good discussion, and that is in fact what we're going to do.
It will be a great opportunity. We would welcome the participation of all the committee members. As well, the following day is forestry day on the Hill. There will also be a number of meetings following that with various caucuses and an opportunity to have a good discussion over those few days on forestry.
The input received from this session, along with other mechanisms, including public consultations of the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers' draft, Vision for Canada's Forests: 2008 and Beyond, will help outline our priority actions for the sector over the longer term. I hope you'll be able to participate in these important discussions.
The second strategic objective that I outlined earlier is critical. In developing our natural resources, it is essential that we do so in an environmentally sustainable way.
We will continue to deliver successful initiatives for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and clean energy. We have invested over $3.5 billion to our ecoENERGY efficiency initiative, to our ecoENERGY renewable initiative, to our ecoENERGY for biofuels and to our ecoENERGY technology initiative.
Our government is committed to a safer, cleaner, and more secure energy mix in Canada. This year we are investing over a quarter of a billion dollars in carbon capture and storage that will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by capturing carbon dioxide from coal-fired industrial plants. This includes the world's first fully integrated clean coal electricity generation facility combined with carbon capture and storage. This project in fact will be happening in Saskatchewan.
Again, this is an enormous opportunity for Canada to lead the way on the development of technology and innovation. We're also investing in geological research on carbon capture and storage potential in Nova Scotia. As well, we're partnering with the University of Calgary to further examine the regulatory, economic, and technological issues to accelerate the deployment of this important technology.
We're also investing $300 million to support AECL and the development of its next-generation nuclear power reactor, the advanced CANDU reactor, and its ability to maintain safe and reliable operations at Chalk River laboratories. Canadians know that nuclear power generation is safe. It's clean and it's emission-free. It's based on Canadian technology that uses Canadian resources.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, the third strategic objective is to promote the safety and security of Canada. As the committee is well aware, the Prime Minister places a strong emphasis on developing opportunities in Canada's north. Investments in geo-science and mapping will help industry discover and develop new energy and mineral resources. Building on this strength in our most recent budget, the Government of Canada invested $34 million over two years for the northern geological mapping and logistical support for the polar continental shelf project.
These investments will provide enormous economic potential for developing resources in remote communities, including the north. Not only are we pursuing the sustainable economic development of this region, we are building on our capacity to support Canadian sovereignty.
Our recent investment of $20 million in seabed mapping, for example, will promote the scientific basis needed to demonstrate Canada's claim in the Arctic for our submission under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Mr. Chair, I had the opportunity, the week before the break week, to visit where we have 25 researchers from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Natural Resources Canada working together to make our territorial claim. It was an amazing experience to go right out onto the polar ice cap and see first-hand what our scientists are doing.
Dr. Ruth Jackson is our lead scientist, and the work they're doing there, the data they're collecting, will be absolutely vital to Canada making a successful claim for a part of the continental shelf the size of the prairie provinces combined. It's very important that we continue this work.
Again, I want to applaud this. I had an opportunity to see first-hand what they're doing. There are very specific rules on how we will make this claim. I believe it's critical that we are successful in this claim so that we ensure that we have the jurisdictional control, not only about the potential economic opportunities, but, even more importantly, that we control the ground rules--what the environmental standards are and how we are to ensure that this is done to the highest standards to ensure environmental protection for future generations.
The north is a very important part of our country, and I'm pleased, as I said, to have been there to see this first-hand.
Finally, I must mention an important initiative to improve our regulatory systems. The government is taking action to improve the efficiency of the regulatory approval processes through the creation of the major projects management office. This investment of $150 million over five years, together with a number of federal agencies, will provide industry with a single point of entry into our federal regulatory process. This will give Canada's natural resource industries greater certainty, improved predictability, and increased transparency, while strengthening the integrity of the overall regulatory process. This will ultimately mean more timely reviews that will aid in attracting critical investments. This is an improvement in the governance that Canadians have been seeking, and I'm proud to report that we are delivering.
Mr. Chair, this government will build on Canada's rich endowment of resources and the skills and ingenuity of our people to keep our economy competitive, to meet our environmental responsibilities, and to contribute safely to the security of all Canadians. Our government is committed to developing policies that maximize the potential of Canada's natural resources. As natural resources continue to rise in strategic importance in the global economy and as concern increases for the future of the planet, our government is creating a sustainable resource development for the advantage of all Canadians.
I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to appear before you this morning, and I look forward to your questions.