Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you very much, everyone, for the invitation to appear.
My name is Lisa DeMarco.
I am the senior partner of DeMarco Allan. What I'd like to do today is cover four main things with you. First let me tell you a bit about where our perspective comes from, a little bit about DeMarco Allan. Secondly I'd like to contextualize our comments today, look at interties in the context of the indigenous, the trade, and the climate context, and within that context, highlight what in my view are the real problems that the Canadian energy strategy and the pan-Canadian framework are trying to solve.
Finally, I will put forward some thoughts for your consideration on a path forward, a path forward that leverages on co-operative federalism, indigenous partnerships, and strategic trade.
I'll note that in the future you will have a copy of the presentation that we're working from, which includes a map that we've taken some time to develop. It outlines all of the interties in the country, and it juxtaposes the emissions in each jurisdiction. It does so by giving relative sizes of dots. In that context, we have overarching NAFTA negotiations that are now ongoing, and we have a host of indigenous considerations and partnerships that are working their way out and leveraging on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the developments with indigenous peoples of Canada.
In general, as the world transitions to a lower-carbon economy, we want to see electricity move from areas of tiny dots, low-emissions jurisdictions, to jurisdictions of big dots, high-emitting jurisdictions. Canada has a wealth of tiny dots. It's my strong view that in particular we should capitalize on the wealth of clean energy resources that we have.
Where is that view developed? What is the perspective that we're bringing to bear?
DeMarco Allan LLP is Canada's first clean energy and climate boutique law firm. I made the decision to literally throw all my eggs in the confidence of this committee, this table, and leave a global leadership position in a global law firm practising energy and climate law to start up a boutique firm. We've grown from three partners to 10 in the course of the last three years. We provide services to oil and gas companies, environmental groups, first nations, electricity companies, governments domestically and around the world, and we've been actively involved in the United Nations negotiations for a period of almost 20 years.
Our perspective is intensely Canadian but internationally informed, so it's from that perspective that I'm of the strong view that we are sitting on a wealth of clean energy resources. In particular, we have the opportunity to be an extraordinary clean electricity exporter. We can do that not simply through exporting the commodities but also by exporting services: clean energy know-how; fantastic engineering services; world-leading expertise on carbon capture and storage, in the nuclear area, in renewables; and last but certainly not least, world-leading expertise in electricity storage, effectively the holy grail that we've all been trying for.
You'll see once you have the associated map in front of you that there is considerable opportunity for all of the low-emitting jurisdictions within Canada to export south, and particularly in the central Canada region, for exports between lower-emitting jurisdictions in B.C., Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec inward to Alberta and Saskatchewan to facilitate a transition to a lower-carbon economy in an efficient manner that does not effectively strand economic assets. Many of my comments really look at what the key problems are. How do we get to that end goal through the Canadian energy strategy, through the pan-Canadian framework, and solve for what I believe are four key problems?
The first challenge that we're facing is facilitating an economic transition to a low-carbon economy via the electricity system. A 30% reduction by 2030 is not a simple goal. We will need to facilitate electrification and fuel optimization in transportation, which constitutes 24% of our emissions profile; in buildings, which constitute 12% of the country's emissions profile; and in oil and gas, which constitute 26% of our emissions profile. Specifically, much of the oil and gas sector is powered through higher-emitting electricity and has the opportunity to move to a lower-emission source.
The second problem or challenge that we're trying to solve is with regard to optimization and innovation in the Canadian energy system. It's my strong view that efficiency is lost in fuelism. Instead of solving for how much of what type of fuel should produce what type of electricity, we should be solving for carbon. Let the system, the system operators, and the companies bring to bear their wealth of knowledge to solve for a carbon target.
Third—this is a big one that's near and dear to my heart—we are blessed with extraordinary zero-emissions power in this country, so much so that we waste a massive amount of clean, green, cheap electrons. Out-of-date electricity market rules, a lack of energy storage, and trade dynamics resulted in 4.7 terawatt hours, not gigawatt hours, of spillage of the cleanest, greenest, hydro power and a total of 7.6 terawatt hours of zero-emissions power in Ontario alone in 2016. Just to put that in context, that's about equivalent to a 1,100-megawatt power plant operating at 80% efficiency being wasted. We have to solve this problem.
Last, but certainly not least, we have to solve the problem of indigenous energy poverty. Reliability in certain indigenous communities was 2,081% worse than for their southern neighbours, and 400% worse than similarly situated northern neighbours. This is a problem.
Where do we go? What's the path forward? We have six recommendations for you.
The first is that Canadian clean energy and energy services should be a dominant Canadian export. The second is that enhanced intertie capability in jurisdictions with large GHG intensity disparity and economically efficient export opportunities are part of the solution, but not the whole solution.
Innovation in the form of energy storage, carbon capture and storage, very small modular nuclear reactors, enhanced trade, indigenous partnerships, and measures to minimize electron waste are also integral. Consider whether it would be appropriate to have a provincially led, federally supported, industry staffed committee to work through in a co-operative federalist manner how to maximize clean energy exports.
Consider also how you can use article 6.2 of the Paris agreement on climate change to maximize opportunity, and finally, respect the constitutional division of powers in a way that enhances the benefits of regional diversity and does not emphasize the challenges in an east-west manner.
Those are my comments. Thank you.