Environment committee  Continuing to supply safe, reliable, and economic electricity while reducing greenhouse gases and air pollutants requires large investments in electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. For example, hydro power developers alone are planning to invest over $50 billion

Environment committee  I can give a good example of that. In Manitoba we just signed two power purchase agreements with Minnesota and Wisconsin that would result in about $15 billion to $20 billion of capital expansion where mainly what we would be doing is displacing thermal generation both in Canada

Environment committee  There are the two phases in the process that we're thinking of here. One is the assessment phase. Let's just say it's a CSR, for the sake of discussion here. In that right now, the process only considers the negative environmental impacts, or social impacts that are caused by c

Environment committee  I think we agree with everything Mr. Barnes said. Our perspective on this is not a simple one in the sense that we don't think the current process is a good one. We think a pure inclusion list may not be workable in itself, though, because just because there's a project.... Let'

Environment committee  Okay, sure.

Environment committee  I think that would probably be answered. Thanks.

Environment committee  CEAA already, as you know, has that as a discretionary possibility for the minister to include in, let's say, a panel review. Our view on that one would be that we can see the need for that kind of an “alternatives to” analysis, but where that analysis is already happening in pro

Environment committee  Yes, absolutely.

Environment committee  We think a thorough consultation process that starts long before the federal or provincial processes kick in.... There always will be some potentially affected communities and people and they should be involved right at the front end. In our case in Manitoba, we focus to a great

Environment committee  Oh, sorry.

Environment committee  Wuskwatim.

Environment committee  I'll try to be quick. Wuskwatim is a $1.6-million hydro project done in partnership with the local Cree. It went through a CSR. It's nearly finished construction now. In that project we had navigable waters involved, and DFO; they were the two main issues. I would say there wa

Environment committee  Yes, and I'll talk about the environmental effects, not the social right now. Another one is reduction in greenhouse gases. When we've had CSRs or there were federal panel reviews, the preparers of the reports had the proponents...and being told, well, you can throw in somethin

Environment committee  I think they have a different role. Now, I'm really getting out on a limb here--

Environment committee  --but I think there's a role for both. I think government needs to be there to provide firm indications of what needs to be done as an absolute minimum and to set resource allocation decisions—I'm thinking about provincial governments there--but at the same time, companies need t