Environment committee  Yes, absolutely. We want certainty of where we can develop and under what conditions. We also recognize that conservation of important natural areas is an important part of the landscape and the mix. There's always this balancing of our economic, social, and environmental interests, but we know conservation has to be part of the mix.

Environment committee  Correct. TRO is the acronym for tailings reduction operations technology. The TRO technology is the treatment of the tailings to remove water at an accelerated rate. This will allow us to return dry tailings to the mine, versus having to store them in tailings ponds for long periods of time.

Environment committee  Certainly reclamation plans are filed at the front end of our projects that document how we're going to commit to restore the landscape after our use of it, but it is adaptive management. To Murray's point, it is learning by doing. I think over time what you're seeing is that the science of reclamation has advanced tremendously.

Environment committee  I think it really starts at all levels of education. At the research level, I touched on the integrated land management research chair at the University of Alberta. At the fundamental level of science and understanding of biodiversity, we still have a real need to develop a better understanding of how to accommodate for biodiversity and understand how ecosystems function in a way that can inform decision-making.

Environment committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. My name is Gordon Lambert, and I'm vice-president of sustainable development for Suncor Energy. We very much welcome the opportunity to contribute to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development's study on a national conservation plan.

Natural Resources committee  It's close to equivalent in terms of the life cycle view of that, yes.

Natural Resources committee  First of all, I'd just highlight that the fuel burned in Canada in our gasoline use is as clean as any fuel in North America or in the world. We have sulphur removed from that fuel. That was through regulation. So the fuel quality exiting the refineries is equivalent to the best anywhere.

Natural Resources committee  This panel that the Alberta government has put in place is to try to reconcile these different views of this data. Dr. Schindler will be sitting down with other scientists to assess this. It's important to note as well that the Athabasca River has hydrocarbon that outcrops on the bank of that river as part of its normal course.

Natural Resources committee  For absolute certain, the outcomes a strategy should encompass should take into account economic outcomes, environmental outcomes, and social outcomes that are important to Canadians. There's a need for a broad view because of how energy touches so many parts of our economy and our society.

Natural Resources committee  Yes.

Natural Resources committee  It's a provincially regulated activity. We file reclamation plans that are part of the approvals of oil sands projects. Those reclamation plans assign timelines and milestones that are used for assessing our progress.

Natural Resources committee  It has historically been specific to the project itself, based on the type of mine planning and the nature of the operations of any given project. However, I would alert the committee that the ERCB and Alberta Environment have recently tabled further clarity on tailings treatment and reclamation that is providing additional framework elements to how we conduct mining and tailings management operations.

Natural Resources committee  I certainly agree with the notion that there aren't any silver bullets here, but carbon capture and storage does represent an important option. It's at an early stage of technology development, so it's costly today, but I would highlight the creation of an entity known as Carbon Management Canada.

Natural Resources committee  Certainly a key role of the federal government relates to the education system for first nations communities and the importance, at that fundamental level, of encouraging a higher graduation rate of students from schools in those communities. That's a more difficult place to intervene, but it is at the foundational level for what's needed to take advantage of the opportunities within the sector.

Natural Resources committee  Certainly. Thanks. I will say at the outset that the protection of the Athabasca River and the assurance of the quality of that Athabasca River basin is a common interest across all participants in the dialogue--the federal government, Alberta government, and industry. I do think it's important that we get a fact-based discussion under way on that topic.