Good morning. Thank you for inviting me to speak here today on behalf of the Clean Resource Innovation Network.
I'm here as the chair of CRIN. I also am the vice-president, technology and innovation, at Canadian Natural Resources Limited, which was the fourth-largest R and D investor for all industries in Canada in 2016, and the leader in oil and gas.
We use facts and data every day to make decisions. We want to be confident in the integrity and relevancy of that data. The challenge is to know what our goal is, what we need to measure to know if we have met our goal, what the leading indicators are that we can measure to control and ensure that we are progressing towards our goal, what tools we can use to analyze the data to allow us to make decisions to achieve our goal, and what control measures we can put in place to ensure we continue to meet or exceed our goal.
In the context of CRIN, our goal is for Canada to be the global leader in clean hydrocarbon production from source to end use. CRIN is a network. We are the glue, the connector of all the incredible innovation institutions, including universities, industry, government research bodies, entrepreneurs, incubators, accelerators, and financiers across our country.
I have seen in the reports from this standing committee that you understand that Canada's energy sector is an innovation success story, and one that you believe should continue. We, as industry, through CRIN, are accelerating technology commercialization by creating a technology pool, by sharing our gaps much more openly and articulately than ever before. Our data from COSIA, Canada's Oil Sands Innovation Alliance, has told us that when we do this, we significantly increase the quality of solutions that come to us.
When we as industry develop a path to commercialization with an entrepreneur, we immediately de-risk that technology and make funding easier, be it private or government. Clean tech developed in Canada is marketable globally, growing a strong, carbon-competitive, diversified Canadian economy.
Through tough times we have continued to invest in technology and innovation. In 2016, the oil and gas sector conducted 75% of the $2 billion invested in clean-tech research in Canada. According to the “State of the Nation” report, the oil and gas sector increased investment in R and D from 2009-15 by 1,400%, while the country as a whole declined.
Building on the knowledge of others is a fundamental component to accelerating commercialization. To date in Canada, this is not something that we have done well. Across this country, I have seen the same thing being invented over and over again in our research institutions.
As a country, we do not have the human resources, financial capital, or time to waste. With a better understanding of the industry's priorities and gaps, improved connectivity, and knowledge sharing across the network, we are creating a more focused effort by innovators, governments, learning institutions, and investors, including end-users. This results are a more effective and efficient use of time, money, and talent, thus driving better results.
The 2050 challenge, according to the World Business Council on Sustainable Development is to have nine billion people not just living on the planet, but living well and within the limits of the planet.
While OECD countries will likely see demand for fossil fuels decrease, non-OECD countries are projecting increased demand for all energy sources. Meeting this increasing global energy demand is where Canada can play its traditional role. Think of the possible global GHG emissions reductions when the technologies developed in Canada—that reduce GHGs by 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and even 100%—are deployed globally.
Through technology and innovation not only are we globally competitive and carbon-competitive, but we can play a lead role in reducing emissions both at home and abroad so that the full spectrum of Canadian energy—non-renewable and renewable—can be realized in Canada and globally, with Canadian know-how.
Innovation in the oil and gas sector is our strength, and it can spawn a new clean-tech sector focused on some of the world's greatest challenges related to the use of non-renewable fossil fuels. Canada's oil and gas sector has entered a new phase, where it is the disruptor, where the escalating effects of innovation and technology take hold, and Canada's leadership as a responsible developer of our natural resources is secured. Innovation will allow Canada to become the global supplier for responsibly developed energy, meeting growing needs with significant reductions in GHGs.
In its comments on the “Report of the Expert Panel on the Modernization of the National Energy Board”, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers expressed the industry's position on the issue of energy data.
Industry provides a significant amount of data to the government, including Statistics Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Natural Resources Canada, and the NEB, as well as provincial authorities. Better use can be made of the information that is provided in terms of what is made available to the public, and likewise within government. Energy data provided to the government should be consolidated and rationalized so that duplication at the federal level is eliminated. The federal government should also strive to engage in sharing data and information with provincial authorities to maximize the value of the information and analysis that is already in government hands.
One of the biggest challenges facing technology and innovation is the lack of real-time data. This is a challenge for the entire innovation ecosystem, including government. Government is a strong partner with industry, but while government does a good job of monitoring financial outcomes, it is much weaker at documenting and tracking innovation outcomes. Traditional metrics such as the SR and ED program and patents are insufficient as they do not capture the whole picture. For instance, as an industry we are increasingly shifting away from patenting and are providing technology in the public domain to improve industry performance as a whole.
The data used in STIC's “State of the Nation” report is years old. We need to be able to see where we are now, and where we are going. What we need is a data communications platform that is searchable in real time, uses data analytics, and will connect all superclusters and innovators to a more fulsome picture of innovation in Canada. We need connectivity that is live and that captures all R and D activity, including activity for companies with less than 20 employees, which is currently not being captured. These companies are responsible for a large part of Canada's R and D, and this needs to be captured and linked to the larger ecosystem.
Traditional statistics are still important, but being able to take the pulse of Canada's innovation ecosystem at any given moment in time will tell us if we have met or are on track to meeting our goal to grow SMEs into large global corporations diversifying our economy and creating jobs.
I see every day the game-changing technologies being developed in our industry. I see how we are reducing GHGs. I see the value we create. I am proud to work in oil and gas.
Why am I proud to work in oil and gas? It's because I know the facts. Quite simply, Canada and the world do not know the facts well enough and it is leading to misinformation about our industry. Non-factual information is being widely spread, negatively impacting the reputations of governments, industry, and the hard-working people of the oil and gas industry. It is important that we have current, accurate, and meaningful data that can be used by a wide variety of audiences, both at home and abroad.
As important as it is to have good data, what we do with the data is even more important. There is a role for government and a role for industry in telling our collective story. The final piece in developing a plan is how to tell our story and renew people's faith in Canada and Canada's energy industries.
I believe that the single best thing that the government could do to work with industry is to develop a sustainable data communications platform that is searchable in real time, uses data analytics, and connects all the superclusters and innovators to give a more fulsome picture of innovation in Canada. This will facilitate better decisions and growth in innovation, get a bigger bang for the buck for both the government and industry in funding innovation, and provide Canadians and the world with a better understanding of how we are continuing to demonstrate leadership through developing clean technologies to reduce GHG emissions related to non-renewable fossil fuels so that the full spectrum of energy can be realized in Canada and globally with Canadian know-how.
Thank you.