Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee members, for inviting us to appear today and for studying an issue as important as the economic recovery in the forestry sector.
You already met Mr. Arsenault, who is joining me today. He is a co-spokesperson of Vision Biomasse Québec.
Vision Biomasse Québec brings together some 20 organizations from the co-operative, municipal, environmental and sustainable development, and business communities. They have all chosen to join forces in pursuit of a common goal: promoting a robust industry that uses forest biomass to provide heating in Quebec.
We help build and share expertise regarding the use of forest biomass for heating through communication and education. We are working to help shape the industry through our political outreach efforts.
Some time ago, these organizations worked together to develop a promising vision for the industry, one that could be leveraged to support the country's economic recovery. They identified the potential to convert the heating systems of buildings outside major urban centres across Quebec and unlock the following benefits: replace 400 million litres of fossil fuel annually, make use of 1 million metric tons of residual forest biomass annually, prevent 1 million metric tons in carbon dioxide equivalent emissions annually, produce 4,000 gigawatt-hours in renewable energy, improve Quebec's trade balance by $225 million, and create 12,500 construction jobs and 3,600 permanent jobs.
Those benefits could certainly be enhanced if the vision were implemented Canada-wide. The impact of converting emitters such as cement and steel plants would be greater still.
As far as the economic recovery in the forestry sector is concerned, Vision Biomasse Québec believes strongly that forest biomass is part of the solution. After all, forest biomass is a wood product derived from forest residue, previously considered as waste with no value. The forest biomass industry can also help strengthen the forest industry by creating permanent jobs that remain in the regions thanks to the supply chain, from harvesting and transportation to processing.
The benefits are not limited to the forestry sector given that the use of forest biomass helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance energy self-sufficiency and lower building heating costs. By leveraging a local and renewable energy source available just about Canada-wide—particularly in Quebec—the forest biomass industry is contributing to GDP, as well as provincial and federal government revenues. It can also have a very positive impact on provincial trade balances because money spent to generate this type of energy stays in the province, instead of being spent outside the province to procure fossil fuel supply.
However, the industry has not yet reached full capacity, with the bulk of the market outside Canada. Developing the domestic market is therefore paramount: millions of tonnes of forest biomass could be sold domestically to create renewable energy and support the country's energy transition.
Remote communities hold significant potential for building the industry's domestic market. The fact is that many communities in northern Quebec, British Columbia and Manitoba, as well as in the Yukon and the Northwest Territories, have already converted and are using local forest biomass for their heating needs. Government support programs are nevertheless vital to the success of these projects, which will raise the industry's profile and contribute to its strong development.
Existing federal programs to support this type of conversion should be maintained and even expanded to accelerate conversion and promote economic recovery.
What's more, Environment and Climate Change Canada is developing a regulatory framework for clean fuels. The department will be releasing standards for liquid fossil fuels soon, with regulations for gaseous and solid fuels to follow. Under the framework, a credit trading system will be established to replace liquid fuels with low-carbon-intensity liquid or gaseous fuels.
It would most likely be a biomass-based product, but with significant losses in performance as a result of conversion. Since the current use of solid biomass-based fuel often serves as an alternative to a liquid fuel such as oil or a gas fuel such as propane, without any major loss in thermal efficiency, we believe these types of fuel alternatives should also be considered for credit eligibility. That would support the market's development in Canada, while reducing greenhouse gases.
The current framework provides for the creation of credits for renewable natural gas production as an alternative to liquid petroleum-based products, despite the loss in thermal efficiency. Credits cannot be created, however, for the use of solid biomass as an alternative to oil. To promote the biomass industry, as well as Canada's forest industry, the Standing Committee on Natural Resources should recommend that the proposed regulations on liquid fuel standards allow for the creation of credits for biomass-based fuels as an alternative to any fossil fuel. The future regulations on solid fuels should do the same.
Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. My colleague and I would be happy to answer any questions you have.