Natural Resources Committee on Nov. 25th, 2014

[Ryan Leef, Conservative, Yukon, YT]

That's excellent news, thank you.

I see you've also indicated that in the supplementary estimates (B) there's an increase coming to the department from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada over to Natural Resources to enable the delivery of the Canadian High Arctic research station science and technology program. I can tell you from being on the ground in Cambridge Bay this year on the northern tour of the community, I'm exceptionally excited about that. It's a great news announcement for the north and we're very much looking forward to seeing the results of that. I guess I can congratulate you for being able to pull some money away from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada into Natural Resources for this particular program.

Can you maybe highlight what these funds are going to specifically be used for and how the department is going to ensure that they're going to be employed in a cost-effective manner?

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

Sure. These are tough but fair precise questions on the supplementary estimates.

Let me talk about Natural Resource Canada's polar continental shelf program. It's intended to provide the delivery of cost-effective, safe, and efficient field logistics for the Canadian High Arctic research station science and technology program by NRCan, specifically our polar continental shelf program. PCSP is the principal Canadian provider of terrestrial Arctic logistical support to academic and government researchers. It has been in business in fact for more than 50 years, much longer than anybody sitting here at this committee today. Using PCSP eliminates the need for CHARS' science and technology program, or any other department or Arctic science program, in its efforts to replicate field logistics capacity, including human resources and the need to commit large volume and multi-year aircraft and fuel contracts.

By using one existing organization to deliver the logistics, cost effectiveness and efficiencies can be gained that benefit the Government of Canada as a whole and, obviously and most importantly, Arctic science.

Finally, Mr. Chair, I would say this is the first of a five-year annual transfer commitment by Indian Affairs for the implementation phase of CHARS' science and technology program. The partnership ensures that CHARS clients have access at the lowest cost to aircraft, to fuel, and to field equipment when and where needed and, of course, that these are provided with the highest margin of safety possible.

[The Chair, Conservative, Leon Benoit]

Thank you, Mr. Leef.

We go now to Monsieur Lauzon, for up to five minutes. Go ahead, please, sir.

[Guy Lauzon, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Welcome, Minister.

I'm new to this committee, so some of the questions I'll have might be rather naive, so you'll have to bear with me.

I notice, though, that you talked in your comments about $7.6 million for renewal of the investments in forestry industry transformation program. It's nice to know that acronym is IFIT, a very interesting acronym.

Apparently this program is to support the development and commercialization of technologies to have a higher value mix of products in the forest industry. Being new to this committee, this intrigues me. How do we do that? How does IFIT give us a better product or a more diversified yield, if you will?

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

I could go on and on about this. I realize this is probably one of the most important investments we're making in the forest sector.

For any of us who come from large, vast regions where the forest sector has been the lifeblood of our local economies, at the bottom of the last recession there were a couple of notable observations that one could make. First of all, small mills couldn't and wouldn't survive, not just because of the recession, but because they tended to cut board foot or make a very raw form of pulp, for example. Because of their inability to diversify their product offering, they couldn't carve out anything else that was left.

The IFIT program is focused on accelerating the deployment of highly innovative, first-in-kind technologies at Canadian forest industry facilities, and we've seen some great results already. I can say that to date the program has successfully funded 14 different projects involving 9 world-first technologies, and 75% of projects are creating new products or diversifying recipients' product offering.

In the renewal of this program, the investments in forestry industry transformation program, the response from stakeholders is to just say, “It fits”. It fits what the forest sector is asking for right now. To the extent that they are still in the context of a fragile global economy, the forest sector, and specifically mills and the like, have an opportunity to diversify their product offering.

This program finally has an entry point for all sizes of operations, so it's fair as well, and is focused on innovation for first-in-kind technologies.

[Guy Lauzon, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

It sounds like a pretty good return on investment.

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

It is, so far.

[Guy Lauzon, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

Another line item I noticed in the supplementary estimates was the genomics research and development initiative. This is only $1.5 million, but apparently, according to the information I have, it leverages funds through collaboration with Canadian and international universities, research organizations, and particularly private companies, which really intrigues me.

You're leveraging that money, but how do we know that the money we're spending relates to the kinds of things you've just talked about, Minister, and that we're getting the right product and the right results and that these private companies or these universities aren't going off on their own tangent? How do we know they're buying into Canada's aim?

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

In your previous question we were talking about innovations in technologies for the industy. This particular line item is focused on the sustainability of that source, the trees. This kind of research is directed towards improving forest health in short, and supporting the industry by identifying and emphasizing the health of specific species that are of economic importance to the country. Some examples would be, for example, in Atlantic Canada where the balsam fir sawfly has been a problem for decades. Funding from the genomics research development initiative has allowed NRCan to sequence the genome of a biological control virus to reduce the population of this very highly destructive insect. Canada now has licensed this biological control to a New Brunswick-based company for commercial use under the trade name Abietiv.

As well, there are other instances that arrive where forest pests become critically impactful on the health of the forest. The GRDI scientists work collaboratively on a Government of Canada priority targeting research on invasive and quarantined species to protect Canada's biodiversity and trade as a whole.

[The Chair, Conservative, Leon Benoit]

Thank you, Mr. Lauzon.

Thank you, Minister.

Ms. Duncan for up to five minutes. Go ahead, please.

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you Mr. Minister.

Just to reiterate my colleague's comment, I have a lot of important questions to ask you on supplementary estimates (Bs) and it's hard to do when only 17 minutes are allotted to the opposition.

My first question is on the $2.5 million being dedicated to establish the MPMO for Vancouver. It's my understanding that the office was created to streamline major energy projects. Last year your department spent $21 million just to re-establish the Calgary NEB office. Can you tell us how much of that $2.5 million is being spent to establish the MPMO, and how much is actually going to generally engage first nations in their determination of their energy priorities?

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

As I had said earlier I believe in my remarks and in questions of likeness, this MPMO is focused on enabling first nations to take advantage of the business opportunities, the increasing employment opportunities, through training and skills development in working to enhance environmental safety.

It is, Mr. Chair, an exercise to integrate their full and important contributions on all aspects of any specific resource project. As a practical first step the MPMO, which has only recently been opened as I said earlier, will serve as a single window, one-stop shop to coordinate the extensive engagement for first nations and the industry.

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

If I could just interject, Mr. Minister, my question is about allocation of money. This is about the supplementary estimates (B) and my question was very specific about the supplementary estimates (B). How much of that $2.5 million is actually being spent on establishing the office?

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

I can provide you with the specific amount as a portion of that money for the physical space or the human resources. Is that what you're talking about?

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Yes, it's a very specific question.

I have a second question for you. I've noticed in your budget that there is mention that the government is becoming more interested in investments in renewable power and energy efficiency, as Canadians are asking. I always follow the United States–Canada clean energy dialogue report. I notice your officials attend a lot of seminars on energy efficiency. You may have noted that the Northwest Territories have declared that they're going to shift away from fossil fuels and be shifting towards use of renewable power. As most of the Northwest Territories is an aboriginal population, I am wondering where can we find in the supplementary estimates (B) a shift now towards more investment in energy efficiency and investment in expanding renewable power rather than fossil fuels.

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

This is really about a clean energy agenda. I'm very proud of the investments and the results we're having, specifically with respect to reducing greenhouse gas emissions on a net basis and the fact that Canada has the cleanest electricity mix in the G-7 with more than 79% of it coming from non-emitting sources.

Investments in green infrastructure, energy efficiency, clean energy technologies, and production of cleaner energy and cleaner fuels are having an impact on our environment. We have, obviously, one of the most successful programs or funds within Natural Resources, the sustainable development technology fund, which is committed to energy and environmental innovation. And of course, the ecoENERGY innovation initiative, supporting energy research, development and demonstration in projects in critical areas, such as smart grids and renewables, reducing the environmental impact of oil sands, energy efficiency for industry and communities, bioenergy and electrification of transportation, as well as an announcement I recently made in Estevan, Saskatchewan, on carbon capture and storage.

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

I'm not sure that carbon capture and storage fits in with renewable energy and energy efficiency, but I appreciate the response.

I have one final quick question. I note that in the supplementary estimates (B) we have $2.5 million for furthering the major energy projects, basically, by major mining and oil companies in British Columbia and Alberta, but a much smaller amount for furthering finalization of self-government agreements of $200,000.

Wouldn't it make more sense to put that $2.5 million into finalizing the self-government agreements in British Columbia, so they could then move forward in self-determining their energy future?

[The Chair, Conservative, Leon Benoit]

A very short answer, please, Minister.

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

Well, this funding for NRCan's purposes is very focused. It's on technical and professional expertise, and services to regional claims and treaty negotiators in British Columbia. They include services specifically for legal surveys, land management, and land tenure regimes, as well as forest management and assessments. These are also important building blocks for other processes, particularly environmental assessment processes, a joint review panel the National Energy Board would find useful, and fortify the participation of first nation communities—

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

But that's for the whole country, though.

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

—and their positions in those—

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

That $200,000 is for the whole country—

[The Chair, Conservative, Leon Benoit]

Order Ms. Duncan, order.

Thank you very much, Minister.

Final question to Mr. Trost.

[Bradley Trost, Conservative, Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Minister, for being here today.

Mr. Lauzon noted that this was his first time here and he's bit of a rookie at this. I guess this is my ninth year, and I've seen some versions of the minister for natural resources, so I think you'll forgive me to some degree for my question. I've put it before to previous ministers and it comes from my background as an exploration mining geophysicist. I'm probably the only member of Parliament, at least on this committee, who's actually done geological mapping. As a result, I have a bit of a personal interest in the geo-mapping for energy and minerals program.

I was wondering, Mr. Minister, if you could give us a bit of an update, an overview of the program—it has been going for a few years—and particularly talk about how it impacts and affects northern communities. I view this as an infrastructure-based program, even though a lot of people won't view it as infrastructure. But it is infrastructure for our mining industry. It's infrastructure for our resource-based industries, and we have to renew this with its funding.

I would like a bit of an update and the committee's indulgence on a review of the geo-mapping for energy and minerals.

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

Absolutely, and I appreciate the question. I would just say that given the technical and precise questions offered by my colleague on forestry in his first time out, I'm going to have to brace myself for further questions, because I thought that was pretty detailed and impressive.

In particular, on the geo-mapping for energy and minerals program, as you know, this was launched in 2008 as part of a five-year initiative to produce new, publicly available regional-scale geoscience knowledge in Canada. In 2014 specifically, the geo-mapping for energy and minerals program launched its new research program, with 14 activities that were initiated following extensive consultations with our provincial and territorial counterparts. The program also engaged, as it should, northerners and their institutions, to seek input on how the program's research activities can most benefit northerners.

I can tell you that the long-term expected outcome of the geo-mapping for energy and minerals program is that of contributing to a strong northern economy through stable long-term investment in responsible resource development and, importantly, producing the kind of information that supports increased exploration, new mineral and energy resource opportunities, and a better understanding of what that really means. In our view, this is obviously going to contribute significantly to communities, to northerners making informed decisions about their land and the future in terms of their economy, and, as is often the case, to how resource projects can develop responsibly for their economic benefit without any compromise to the safety and environmental issues or challenges that any given project imposes.