Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon.
I want to begin by acknowledging, with respect, that I am joining you today from my home in Coast Salish territory, specifically on the traditional lands of the Esquimalt and Songhees first nations. I am appearing before your committee today as a recently appointed member of the board of directors of SDTC.
I bring to this role over 40 years of public service experience. I have served as a deputy minister in the governments of British Columbia and Canada, and have, since then, acquired substantive experience in the governance of Crown agencies, serving on boards to that purpose for the provinces of Alberta and B.C. and for the federal government. Over this time, I have served cabinet ministers across Canada's full political spectrum.
Alongside former deputy ministers Paul Boothe and Marta Morgan, I was appointed to the board on June 4 for a term of one year. Our small board structure aligns with a specific mandate to implement the recommendations of the Auditor General report on SDTC, to implement the minister's direction to restart funding for Canadian clean technology companies, both those previously approved for funding and new applicants, and to transition SDTC programming and staff to the National Research Council.
Our work is informed by the extensive and conclusive reviews conducted over the past year: the Auditor General's report of May 2024; the fact-finding review on employment practices by McCarthy Tétrault; and the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner's reports on two former SDTC board members.
Our focus since day one has been to ensure strong executive oversight of all the foundation's activities. In carrying out our mandate, we are guided by three principles: to uphold our fiduciary responsibilities to ensure the sound management of public funds, to ensure fairness to clean-tech companies that have entered into legal agreements with SDTC in support of advancing their businesses and to facilitate the transition of SDTC to the NRC in an orderly manner.
Our first focus has been on implementing the guidance from the Auditor General's report. Of the 11 recommendations for SDTC, 10 have now been implemented. An updated contribution agreement was part of this work to incorporate enhanced oversight and reporting processes as recommended and to reflect the transition under way. The recommendation still to be completed is number 6.29 in the report, which states that SDTC “should reassess projects approved during the audit period to ensure that they met the goal and objectives of the Sustainable Development Technology Fund and all its eligibility criteria.” This reassessment is now under way using independent third parties that were recruited for their competence in this work, and their findings are being reported for final decision to our board.
Our second mandate, to restart funding for those companies that hold agreements with SDTC, is advancing. We will rely on the findings of the AG report itself and the third party assessments under way, as well as a new quality assurance process put in place to confirm continued compliance before disbursing funds. I can say that we are getting close to releasing our first disbursements, with priority being accorded to those companies that have submitted their documentation and have been waiting the longest. The process for approving new funding for projects has also resumed, with priority being accorded to those businesses that have been in the queue the longest and are most advanced in the reinforced due diligence process, including the review by external experts.
On our third mandate, work is well under way to transition SDTC programming and staff to the NRC. Working groups between the two organizations are in place, developing detailed plans to ensure alignment on both programming and personnel.
Last, I come to this role as a former deputy minister of Natural Resources Canada and Environment Canada, and I am familiar with the kind of innovative companies that have been recipients of SDTC programming support. I am mindful, in delivering my mandate, of the importance of these hundreds of small and medium-sized businesses that are developing critical sustainable technologies. Their work contributes to Canada's economic growth and assists in achieving Canada's environmental objectives.
Our focus as a new board is to deliver on our three mandates in a manner that ensures accountability, transparency and integrity.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm happy to answer your questions.
