Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you so much for having me.
Good afternoon to all the committee members and everyone else who is present in the room. Thank you for inviting me to make this presentation. As you said, this is my first appearance at the committee as Canada's Minister of Natural Resources.
I would like to begin by making two important acknowledgements. The first is to acknowledge that we are gathered here on the traditional territory of Algonquin people. The second is to acknowledge Minister Carr and the extraordinary work that he did as my predecessor in this portfolio.
As we all know, Canada's natural resources—oil and gas, wind, solar, forestry and mining—have been a source of well-paying middle-class jobs. It is our government's goal to ensure that this growth continues for decades to come. In Canada, we also have an advantage that goes well beyond the abundance of natural resources. It is the expertise and the experience we have in developing them sustainably and competitively.
It was Canadian resourcefulness that unlocked the secret of getting oil out of sand. It is the same innovation that is reducing the industry's environmental footprint. I saw that innovation first-hand at Goldcorp gold mine in Chapleau, Ontario, where all vehicles are run on electric battery, reducing the environmental footprint as well as creating clean jobs. This innovation has occurred in part because of the investments we are making in the adoption of clean technologies, helping not only to lower emissions but to reduce long-term operating costs.
Canada's advantage will continue to grow with the increasing global demand for raw materials that are produced sustainably and responsibly, the raw materials that we have in abundance in Canada: wood and wood products that will help us combat a changing climate; metals and minerals such as lithium, graphite, cobalt, nickel, copper and rare earth elements that are used in everything from solar cells and wind turbines to the batteries for electric cars.
Canada has one of the world's cleanest electricity mixes to power our low-carbon future. Our government is building on all of this by investing $26.9 billion in clean infrastructure, which includes investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency, smart grids and more.
Canada's natural resources are not just the historical backbone of our economy, they are the key to our clean growth future and creating good, well-paying jobs, the kinds of jobs that expand our middle class, that raise our standard of living and improve our quality of life in every province and territory.
That is why our government also supported LNG Canada's $40-billion project on the west coast of British Columbia, paving the way for the single-largest private sector investment in Canadian history. It's a project that will create 10,000 jobs at the height of its construction and millions of dollars in new contracts for indigenous businesses. This project will open new global markets for Canadian natural gas, displacing other fuels that emit higher levels of greenhouse gas emissions, offering greater global energy security and a greener future.
Our fall economic statement will support more of these opportunities with the new tax incentives and investments to enhance the competitiveness of the resource sectors, making Canadian companies better able to invest in their own growth and making Canada a more attractive place to do business.
A number of these new measures directly target emerging challenges in the natural resources sector, such as softwood lumber prices that have certainly fallen off recent peak highs, and a dwindling timber supply in areas ravaged by the mountain pine beetle and wildfires. That is why we announced an additional $100 million in the strategic innovation fund to support Canada's forestry sector.
We have also renewed the mineral exploration tax credit for a full five years, to maintain Canada's position as one of the world's most competitive jurisdictions for investing in exploration.
We have responded to recommendations from leaders in the oil and gas industry, including new tax incentives to permit the full writeoff of machinery and equipment used in the refining and processing of oil and gas, allowing for the creation of even more value-added products.
Now, let me turn to the price differential on Canadian oil. This price differential is the direct result of previous governments' failure to build pipelines, expand to non-U.S. markets and reduce our dependency on a single customer: the United States. This problem was further compounded by the scheduled seasonal maintenance at four refineries in the U.S. Midwest that caused a temporary drop in demand. This, combined with increasing production from the oil sands, created an extraordinary price discount on Canadian resources.
I want to reassure you that our government has made the price differential—and the issue of market access in general—an urgent priority. That is why we established a working group of senior officials from the federal government and western provinces to lead our efforts.
While we welcome the news that all four U.S. refineries, and the million barrels per day they process, are back online, we know that additional pipeline capacity is required to address increased production. This is why our government approved the Line 3 replacement project. Construction of this project is under way, and will come into operation in the fourth quarter of 2019. That is why we have always supported Keystone XL. I spoke with Secretary Perry to offer our ongoing support last week.
It is also why we purchased the Trans Mountain pipeline and related infrastructure when it faced political headwinds, because we know market access to customers other than the United States is the long-term solution to the price differential.
We know we need to get our oil resources moving, and all solutions are on the table to accomplish that, from increasing rail capacity to rethinking how access to existing pipelines is allocated. In fact, I have written to the National Energy Board, asking it to report on options for optimizing pipeline use in western Canada. Earlier today, I met with Minister Garneau and rail shippers to discuss rail solutions.
I am a proud Albertan. I am seeing first-hand the pain this price differential is causing for hard-working men and women in my home province. It is affecting families, neighbours and friends. The status quo cannot and will not continue. The good news is that when Canadians work together, as we are on the price differential, there is nothing we cannot overcome.
Mr. Chair, this might be a good place to stop and welcome any questions that committee members may have. Thank you once again for having me here today.
