Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Members of the committee, thank you for inviting me to appear today to discuss such important issues as energy security and the oil sands.
In French, we are not engaged in the same discussion that you seem to be having with respect to the name of the oil sands. In French, the term is “sables bitumineux” and it's the same for everyone and everyone seems quite willing to accept it.
For us at Équiterre, issues such as energy security and the oil sands are both crucial for the energy, economic, environmental and social future of the country. We have prepared a report which suggests how Quebec could eliminate its dependency on oil by 2030. We sent you copies of that report, but only in French. We will be forwarding an English version which can then be distributed.
In light of the scientific data that we have received over the last decade with respect to climate change, and various reports, be they from NASA, Environment Canada or the Department of Natural Resources, or places around the planet, it is clear that in the coming decades, we will pretty well have to stop using fossil fuels.
It is clear that the starting point is fossil fuels, which have the highest rate of greenhouse gas emissions, in terms of either units of energy or units of GDP—whichever. As we were reminded again the day before yesterday, by a report tabled in the European Parliament by the European Commission, the oil sands have a GHE content which is 25 times higher than traditional oil fuels.
As we see it, that means one of two things: either we have to quickly reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with the oil sands—which, I remind you, emit two to four times more greenhouse gases than traditional fuels—or, if we are unable to do that, reduce our use, and therefore our production of oil from the oil sands.
In the report that we will be tabling with the committee, we show that we are well aware that humans will continue to use oil for quite some time to come. However, we believe that it is necessary, on the one hand, to reduce our dependency on oil, and also to move away from fossil fuels, conventional or otherwise, as quickly as possible, since they emit high levels of greenhouse gases. In that regard, the oil sands are clearly in a category by themselves.
In the report we will be forwarding to you, we have information from a study we conducted of the economic cost of this for a province like Quebec. And, what we did for Quebec can be done for other provinces. Indeed, it would be a good idea for the committee to look at that.
The economic cost of our dependency on oil is $74 a barrel of oil. The exodus of capital from a province like Quebec amounts to approximately $10 billion a year. If a barrel of oil costs $105, the loss of capital amounts to almost $15 billion. If a barrel costs $150—as was the case in 2007—the loss of capital outside Quebec is almost $20 billion. In budgetary terms, that corresponds to the second largest budget item for the Government of Quebec, which is the Ministry of Education.
Yet we believe there are many other things we can do with our money—public money—than use it to boost other world economies. We think we should be boosting our own economy instead.
You may say that it is impossible to reduce our dependency on oil—that it's unthinkable. And yet some countries have made a commitment not to import any more oil between now and 2025. Those countries, such as Sweden, are comparable to ours in terms of their climate, their economy, their social programs and education systems. But 2025 is coming quickly. If Sweden is able to do it, I don't see why a country like Canada could not do the same if, of course, it has the political will to do so.
I am one of those who believes that there is no lack of solutions, either technical or technological. We have enough creativity and intelligence to be able to deal with the issues.
In Sweden, they are now building houses that don't need a heating system. They still put heating systems in these houses, simply for psychological reasons, because the people who live there do not believe it is possible to live in Sweden in a house without heating. However, these houses are so energy efficient that the only heat that is produced is the heat loss from the people who live in them.
There are a great many things that we should be doing in Canada—for example, in terms of electrifying our transportation system, particularly transportation over long distances, both passenger transportation and shipping. That would allow us to greatly reduce our consumption of oil in this country.
You may ask whether we will gain something if the electricity used to power these transportation systems is produced using fossil fuels. But there will clearly be very significant gains if one considers the fact that the rate of efficiency of an electrical device in converting energy—in this case, moving electricity—is between 75% and 95%. In comparison, an internal combustion engine has an efficiency rate of between 20% and 25%. For every vehicle that is electrified, the energy efficiency would triple, which would represent a very significant gain.
There are many different things that should be done with respect to energy efficiency. Alas, Stephen Harper's government has abolished pretty well all the energy efficiency programs that were in place, particularly those aimed at low-income Canadians. Équiterre is an organization which, like many others across the country, has for years now provided energy efficiency services to low-income households, to help them reduce their energy bill.
However, the Harper government cut $500 million from energy efficiency programs for low-income households. Hundreds of jobs were lost across the country. In that sector, jobs were being created all across Canada, in small and large municipalities alike, from north to south, and from east to west. It was not only one part of the country which was benefiting from that.
We must focus on renewable energy. Wind energy is an obvious example. On behalf of the Quebec Minister of Natural Resources, I was in charge of a special team on renewable energy. The mandate of our team was to look at the development of emerging renewable energy sources, such as photovoltaic solar, thermal solar, biogas and second-generation biofuels.
In closing, there is huge potential for Quebec, Ontario and the country as a whole. Unfortunately, we are one of the only OECD countries to no longer have an incentive program for renewable energy development.
Thank you very much.