Natural Resources committee  Yes. Electrification is the key because electricity is much more productive. An electric car will use three times less energy than a gas-powered car. An electric heat pump will use two, three or four times less energy than a natural gas heating system. There are other elements, as well, but that is indeed the key element.

Natural Resources committee  There is a strategy. The federal government has tabled the Clean Electricity Regulations. Money is being spent to increase production, but not at the scale of what is needed to meet the needs associated with processing. Even in terms of just meeting the 2030 or 2035 targets for the number of electric vehicles, investment plans to upgrade grids and upgrade production are largely lacking across Canada.

Natural Resources committee  The federal government is limited, as this falls under a provincial mandate. However, the federal government could take action by encouraging innovation to be more productive in the deployment of infrastructure, such as the transmission and distribution infrastructure. It could certainly also support the construction of new generation plants in the country.

Natural Resources committee  One of things is that we know where we are going. We just haven't made the investment. It will be tight, and maybe it will not be reached exactly, but if we don't have this regulation, it will not happen. If you go abroad—if you look in the U.K. and if you look in the U.S.—the massive calls that are being made today to upgrade the production are way above what we are talking about in Canada.

Natural Resources committee  What's happened in the U.S. is that prices were going down for many years, and now everybody is calling and trying to build. There's a lot of demand, and it's hard to respond to the demand due to the supply chain. Clearly, the longer we wait, the more we are the tail of this supply chain and the more we will pay, unless we have a clear strategy, and that's what I'm talking about here.

Natural Resources committee  In the evaluation, we did some modelling. Canada needs to produce twice as much electricity. We also have to strengthen the transmission and distribution network because, if we want to electrify home heating and cars, we need more powerful networks that are closer to customers, not just in terms of production.

Natural Resources committee  Yes, it is possible, but we have to make the investments now and plan things properly. The Institut de l'énergie Trottier conducted a study last year in eastern Canada, from Newfoundland to Ontario. None of the utility companies have the investment plans to meet those targets. They can't even meet the anticipated demand on the ground from Canadians who want to go electric and contribute to Canada's decarbonization.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Honourable members, thank you for inviting me to participate in the work of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources. There's more information about me and the Institut de l'énergie Trottier in the brief I sent you. Our work is about the energy transition and how to support governments in achieving climate goals.