Natural Resources Committee on April 23rd, 2026

[Greg Orencsak]

The additional funds—just over $70 million in this year's estimates—are mainly being used to help supplement provincial and territorial aerial firefighting capacity. The department is working with the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre to help lease and manage the deployment of wildfire aircraft throughout the upcoming fire season, depending on the demand that may exist, and to help improve our systems readiness and help support wildfire suppression efforts across the country.

[Braedon Clark, Liberal, Sackville—Bedford—Preston, NS]

Mr. Hargrove, perhaps I could ask you this.

Back 10 years ago, I worked for the natural resources minister in Nova Scotia. Over the ensuing 10 years, in talking to local and provincial firefighters, I found that coordination came up over and over again as one of the more difficult things when it comes to managing wildfires. How can the department be helpful, in that umbrella role, to make sure that when wildfires happen, as they inevitably do and will, we are as coordinated as we possibly can be to make sure that we're fighting these things as efficiently as possible?

[Glenn Hargrove]

That's a great question.

The deputy mentioned the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. That organization is owned by the federal government and the provinces and territories. Through CIFFC, as it's generally known, we work collaboratively across jurisdictions on things like resource sharing. For instance, when firefighters and equipment come from, say, B.C. to Nova Scotia, that's coordinated through CIFFC. We also work with them on coordinating firefighters from international jurisdictions who come to help us.

That's one of the reasons that we're working with CIFFC on the procurement and management of these new aircraft. It's so those can be managed within the framework of collaboration with the provinces and territories and to ensure that there's a collective effort to identify the greatest need and deploy those resources where they're needed most.

That's a really critical part of the system across Canada, and CIFFC plays an important role in that.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Shannon Stubbs]

Thank you. I gave you a bit of extra time so you could fully answer that question for the member.

[Braedon Clark, Liberal, Sackville—Bedford—Preston, NS]

Thank you.

[Glenn Hargrove]

We also, through Natural Resources Canada, provide grant money that is the federal support for their operating from a federal level.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Shannon Stubbs]

That is time. You can submit anything further if you'd like. Thanks.

On behalf of the committee, I want to thank all of the officials and witnesses for being here today. I know that these are short time spots. It's difficult for the MPs to ask questions in that time, and it certainly is a challenge for all of you to answer the questions in the time allotted, given the complexity, scale and scope of all the work you do in service of Canada.

Thank you for giving your time to us today and participating in this exercise of accountability. I'm sure we'll see you all again.

Colleagues, we have just two items that we'll finish off.

Witnesses, you can stay if you like, or you can go on with your lives now. Thank you.

Colleagues, we have to vote on the estimates since we just had a meeting about them. They are as follows:

ATOMIC ENERGY OF CANADA LIMITED

Vote 1—Payments to the corporation for operating and capital expenditures..........$1,704,470,844

(Vote 1 agreed to)

CANADIAN ENERGY REGULATOR

Vote 1—Program expenditures..........$105,900,587

(Vote 1 agreed to)

CANADIAN NUCLEAR SAFETY COMMISSION

Vote 1—Program expenditures..........$54,062,479

(Vote 1 agreed to)

DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

Vote 1—Operating expenditures..........$884,836,089

Vote 5—Capital expenditures..........$51,814,394

Vote 10—Grants and contributions..........$2,455,233,835

(Votes 1, 5 and 10 agreed to)

NORTHERN PIPELINE AGENCY

Vote 1—Program expenditures..........$540,000

(Vote 1 agreed to)

Shall I report the votes, less the amounts voted in interim supply, to the House?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Shannon Stubbs]

On the energy security and transmission motion that we moved collectively, I think there's an appetite to have witness lists submitted by May 1.

Is it the will of the committee to adjourn the meeting?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Shannon Stubbs]

Thank you.