Natural Resources Committee on Feb. 23rd, 2017

[Bryan Watson]

Certainly. I'd say there are a couple.

One program is on the access to capital side. I do believe that the SR and ED tax credit program, which provides an innovation tax credit specifically geared towards commercialization and adoption—and obviously the R and D side of that commercialization and adoption—will have a great effect on the adoption of those clean technologies. The first pilots of those technologies, the infield testing and calibration to market, is where that innovation tax credit does come into play.

The second is again on the access to capital side. The program that I've seen have the greatest effect, being from Ontario, is FedDev's investing in business innovation program, which I've been involved in for quite a while. It leverages two-thirds to one third, up to $3 million, in investments in early-stage clean technology companies. It really helps to bridge that valley of death that a lot of companies face in getting to market. With a venture capital ecosystem that has had some interesting policy in it over the years, which has been slightly detrimental to that ecosystem, that sort of program really is necessary to get those companies over that valley of death.

[The Chair, Liberal, James Maloney]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Harvey, you have a minute or two.

[TJ Harvey, Liberal, Tobique—Mactaquac, NB]

I won't be very long. I'll give you each an opportunity to comment really quickly at the end.

I want to quickly touch on this. We talk about clean technology, the option of clean technology, and the renewal of clean technology in some sectors across the country, and a lot of times clean technology is associated with renewables. I think it's important that we recognize not only the ongoing development of clean technology in traditional sectors, but also the past development of clean technology that has been adopted in the oil and gas, mining, forestry, and agriculture sectors. We need to make sure that we take that into consideration from a policy perspective.

A lot of the traditional industries have made great strides over the last 25 or 30 years, especially in the last 10 years, in forging ahead with the adoption of cleaner technologies. A lot of times, I find, such progress gets disassociated from those traditional industries, and the focus tends to be on renewables. I wanted to make sure that I got that comment in there. I'll open it up for all three of you to give a last take on that. That's my opinion.

[The Chair, Liberal, James Maloney]

You have about 20 seconds each, if you're all going to take a turn.

[Brent Gilmour]

I'll be very quick. I would stress one thing: don't invest just in the tech. We keep talking about technology. I want to stress from my perspective that it's about being careful, but also about investing in the project development stage. This is the infrastructure argument too. This is where you're going to get the biggest return, regardless of where.

[TJ Harvey, Liberal, Tobique—Mactaquac, NB]

Yes—

[Brent Gilmour]

Whether it's upstream or downstream, this is what we're talking about. That's what I would encourage, regardless of where we're going. Invest not just in the tech. Give consideration to the project development stage.

[Dr. David Popp]

I think that's an excellent point you make. It's one area where there's a distinction between what firms will do as a reaction to the markets is important.... I say this because in setting the policy, whether it's a carbon tax or environmental policy generally, it's important to set the clear goals and encourage a lot of innovation.

[Bryan Watson]

From my perspective, you're spot on. A lot of our technology companies focus on mining tailings or the industrial Internet of things to monitor pipelines for safety. There is a very wide group of technologies that plays into the clean technology sector and that may apply to all sectors: hydro, water, and gas. Energy generation is just one. There are many other sectors where clean technology plays a role, such as what green chemistry does in intermediating chemicals that are quite harmful. All of those have to be considered and supported.

My final point would be to have a clean-tech voucher program bridging the gap between that technology and the project where it's implemented—with that technology, that industrial Internet of things for pipeline management systems and monitoring systems, being implemented for a pilot trial on an actual pipeline. In those sorts of projects, that's where a clean-tech voucher program to help bridge that gap is very important—and not just in energy generation.

Also, I agree with you on making sure that it is not just the energy generation and renewables sector that is the focus.

[The Chair, Liberal, James Maloney]

Thank you very much, gentlemen, for taking the time to join us today. Unfortunately, we're out of time. We're going to have to stop here.

As for the rest of you, we'll see you in 10 days.

The meeting is adjourned.