Evidence of meeting #48 for Natural Resources in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was technologies.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Jean-Pierre Finet  Vice-President, Energy Services Association of Canada
Peter Love  President, Energy Services Association of Canada
Céline Bak  President, Analytica Advisors
Simon Irish  Chief Executive, Terrestrial Energy Inc.
Louis Thériault  Vice-President, Public Policy, The Conference Board of Canada

5:25 p.m.

Chief Executive, Terrestrial Energy Inc.

Simon Irish

First, we're very excited about the broad opportunities in New Brunswick. Second, New Brunswick is a province of Canada that does have its own indigenous nuclear expertise. It operates the Point Lepreau site and it has a nuclear engineering department in Fredericton at the University of New Brunswick, which has the capabilities that we seek for the components of our business plan.

We're certainly very interested and very excited about our relationship in New Brunswick. We also see it as a nice confluence at the provincial level of an indigenous nuclear capability combined with a market need. We recognize a desire in New Brunswick to deal with some legacy co-production. We think that defines a market need to embrace new power technologies that can replace that co-production in a clean and cost-competitive way for New Brunswick customers.

5:25 p.m.

Liberal

TJ Harvey Liberal Tobique—Mactaquac, NB

I appreciate that.

5:25 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal James Maloney

Thank you.

I'm very sorry, Mr. Harvey.

Mr. Liepert, I'm going to be able to give you about two minutes or less.

March 9th, 2017 / 5:25 p.m.

Conservative

Ron Liepert Conservative Calgary Signal Hill, AB

I'll make your job really easy, Mr. Chair. I don't have any deep questions, but I just want to make a couple of comments.

I want to echo Mr. Harvey's comments earlier about not pitting one sector against the other, just as we shouldn't be pitting fish against beef. I hope that you're successful in convincing your government members of the same thing.

Mr. Irish, in a previous life, I was energy minister in Alberta. I think in many ways nuclear suffers from some of the same things that the fossil fuel industry suffers from.

I remember—with all due respect to my good friend Mr. Cannings—the NDP, as the opposition, just lighting their hair on fire with the scare tactics about nuclear. You don't, but they did.

I think it's that fear factor that we have to get over with the.... I'm a big fan of nuclear and I think what you're proposing sounds like it makes a lot of sense.

Mr. Thériault, I don't have any questions for you either, but I'm a big fan of the Conference Board.

My recommendation to the committee, Mr. Chair, is that you should hire this guy to help you with your study.

5:25 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal James Maloney

On that note, we're going to have to stop for the day.

Mr. Thériault, it's a positive note to end on. Mr. Irish, it was very nice of you to come back and join us again. Thank you both.

The meeting is adjourned.