A few years ago, Natural Resources Canada funded studies in Alberta, British Columbia and the Atlantic provinces, which showed that interconnection projects would already be cost-effective. However, local and provincial stakeholders were unwilling to move forward. We know that Natural Resources Canada has long sought to promote an Atlantic loop that would benefit all Atlantic provinces. Unfortunately, they are having tremendous difficulty reaching an agreement. Yet there are real gains to be made, especially if we plan for more renewable energy, as is the case in Nova Scotia, which wants to build offshore wind farms off the coast of the island.
So, we absolutely need these east-west transmission lines. Obviously, we're not thinking of a line running from Nova Scotia all the way to British Columbia, but rather of regional east-west zones. That would necessarily be the case, since in Canada the provinces are all either east or west of one another.