Natural Resources Committee on April 23rd, 2026

[Greg Orencsak]

Yes. To be brief, it has provided funding for indigenous-owned projects already.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Shannon Stubbs]

Thank you.

Now we will move back to Monsieur Simard for two and half minutes.

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

I'll turn to you once again, Ms. Sletto. I'll try to be clearer.

The government has indeed announced its firm intention to increase trade corridors, increase the number of foreign partners and export more energy to other countries. That is not done on the back of a napkin. It is based on market analyses and analyses of infrastructure needs.

When Hydro‑Québec wanted to export hydroelectricity to the United States, the Régie de l'énergie du Québec produced reports to determine the cost of the line that would have to be built and the economic benefits for Quebec. I assume that the federal government doesn't make decisions on the back of a napkin.

What I would like, as part of our study, and what could help us a great deal, is for you to provide to the committee your studies and analyses along those lines. If they don't exist, I'd be curious to know if there are any in the department because it's a decision-making process that involves vast sums of money.

I would like a bit more information about how decisions are made and what information they are based on. I would also like to know if you can table the studies here in committee so we can better understand where the government is headed.

Thank you.

[Tracy Sletto]

I might articulate it in this way. When I speak about our energy information mandate, that market analysis, those broad supply-and-demand scenarios and the long-term economic analysis and information we provide as part of that mandate would be very much in broad macroeconomic contexts. What you're asking about are specific project estimates and potentially cost estimates related to specific initiatives, and I would differentiate the energy information mandate from our energy adjudication mandate.

With respect to specific project decisions, when there's an application before the CER that's before our commission, during the quasi-judicial function of adjudicating any project that comes before the CER, part of the analysis in terms of either the safety regulatory oversight mandate we hold or the economic regulatory oversight mandate we hold—on toll and tariff matters, for example—would include that kind of economic analysis.

What you're describing is often provided in the context of project proponents bringing that information forward. That wouldn't be something the CER would develop itself.

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

What you're saying is very interesting. I'd like to pick up on that quickly and ask the departmental officials something.

If we wait for a project proponent to arrive with the necessary information before developing strategies, how will government policies be established?

Money has been allocated in the budget. So, if you have documents, I would like the department to table them with the committee as well.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Shannon Stubbs]

Thank you, Monsieur Simard. I'm sure they will respond with documents to answer your questions.

We'll move to Monsieur Martel for five minutes.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I'd like to talk to you about forest fires. I know that you support the buy Canadian policy.

Could you clarify for me how spending on fire monitoring and prevention will result in direct contracts for Canadian specialized companies and OEMs?

[Greg Orencsak]

I'm going to ask Glenn Hargrove, who is the assistant deputy minister of the Canadian Forest Service, to provide more details.

I will preface that by saying that the department works closely with provinces and territories and the Canadian Forest Service to help coordinate those supports and interventions, but I will ask Glenn to speak to further details associated with that.

[Glenn Hargrove, Assistant Deputy Minister, Canadian Forest Service, Department of Natural Resources]

Thank you, Deputy. I'm very excited to get to use my name-card today.

I want to make sure that I'm answering the question that you're posing. We have a number of different ways in which we support the provision of information around wildfire and equipment for battling wildfire.

In terms of equipment, we have a program that provides funding to provinces and territories to purchase wildfire-fighting equipment. We do that through contribution agreements with those provinces and territories. We have 12 agreements across the country.

We also work to provide wildfire behaviour modelling and observation through the department and through our scientific teams. Those are offered throughout the wildfire season.

There's quite a range, so I want to make sure I'm answering your question to the fullest. Does that help?

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Recent data indicates that a third of our boreal forests no longer regenerate normally after fires.

What is your strategy to ensure the sustainability of the forest resource?

[Glenn Hargrove]

We are working with the provinces.

For example, one of the key focus areas of the two billion trees program is to rejuvenate areas that have been affected by forest fires. That's a key focus of that program, and while the program is winding down, we are honouring all the existing agreements under it.

We also have a number of researchers in a large science program that looks at the interaction between sustainable forest management and the impacts of wildland fire, including in the boreal ecosystem. We have researchers who are looking at how the increased frequency and severity of forest fires impact the regeneration of those areas, looking particularly at the impact when we have what are called short interval reburns in those areas. We are doing research on the impacts and how they can be mitigated.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

If a third of burned forests fail to regenerate, your carbon sequestration strategy will be compromised.

Do you admit that your climate targets are based on a forestry model that is no longer valid?

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Shannon Stubbs]

Give a brief answer. I'm allowing some time because you said there were issues with interpretation.

[Glenn Hargrove]

I'm sorry. My earpiece is no longer working.

You're right that it does have an impact on carbon stores. We take those sorts of things into account in how we monitor carbon flows in the boreal forest and other forest ecosystems.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Shannon Stubbs]

Thank you.

If there's anything you want to supplement to that, you can submit it to the committee.

For our final round of questioning, we will go to Mr. Clark for five minutes.

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

Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for the generous time allocations. You're much more generous than Mr. Duguid, I must say.

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Shannon Stubbs]

Well, maybe you guys want another chair.

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

I wouldn't go that far.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Shannon Stubbs]

I thought we worked collaboratively.

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

We do, but there are limits to everything.

Similarly to what Mr. Martel was talking about, I want to talk about the forestry sector, so Mr. Hargrove, please stay here.

We know that it's a hugely important sector across the country. There are at least 300 communities and roughly 200,000 people in that sector. Of course, it's also dealing with a lot of difficulty at the moment, imposed mostly from abroad.

I know that the department was mandated to create the Canadian forest sector transformation task force. I'm not sure if this is a question for you, Mr. Hargrove, or for Mr. Orencsak. I'll let you guys stickhandle that. Could you give us an update on the work of that task force and what's going to come next out of that?

[Greg Orencsak]

I'll start.

The task force was launched to help advise on how to restructure and retool the forestry sector to increase its competitiveness and provide some advice to help with the sustainability of the sector over the long term.

The task force's report was received by the minister at the end of last week. We're currently in the process of reviewing the report. The minister will have more to say on next steps in the near future.

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

Mr. Hargrove, did you want to add to that?

[Glenn Hargrove]

I will just say that we're really grateful to the members of the task force. The co-chairs and all the members of the task force were extremely dedicated. They've contributed a lot of their time and expertise over the last 90 days.

We're really excited to receive their recommendations and to use them to inform next steps. They've done an excellent job, and we will continue to work through the road map that they have offered.

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

We all look forward to hearing more on that. Thank you for that update.

As the minister mentioned in the first hour, the contributions in the estimates for support of fighting and managing wildfires increased this year by about $70 million, from $80 million to $150 million, so it nearly doubled. How is the department using these funds to better manage and deal with wildfires, which, as we know, are becoming more severe year over year, and more consistent, unfortunately, and are happening during broader swaths of the year?