Natural Resources committee  I very much appreciate the opportunity to speak to that. Pipelines have proven to be the safest way to move large volumes of oil over time. They are very safe, and we continually learn how to improve them. Over time, compared to pipelines that were built before, you will have seen stronger steel, better coating, and improved construction practices, such that actually 100% of the welds themselves are X-rayed to ensure they meet the standards set by the National Energy Board.

Natural Resources committee  Yes.

Natural Resources committee  It's a very important point that we do build support from all constituents for the pipeline project. That starts with making information available to them and having a dialogue so they have the information necessary to make an informed assessment, have the opportunity to voice their concerns, and have their questions answered, which is our obligation.

Natural Resources committee  There would not be any VLCCs going into Kitimat at this time.

Natural Resources committee  Well, you would be looking at 220 ships coming in each year over an expected life of 30 years. Now, the project may go past that 30-year life.

Natural Resources committee  No.

Natural Resources committee  We cannot guarantee there won't be a spill. However, we can put in place significant infrastructure processes that will make that remote. In fact, recognizing that's the biggest issue for people, whether the project can be built and operated safely, particularly from the marine environment, we ask that all those affected—be they coastal aboriginal or non-aboriginal communities—join with us in a study of what the chance is of an incident and hire those experts to make that assessment.

Natural Resources committee  No, we'll have responsibility to ensure that ships come in and exit safely into Canadian waters.

Natural Resources committee  No, I'm not guaranteeing safety or that there won't be a spill. You've said a lot of things in there, Nathan, some of which would be questionable. But the key part of that is the process we're about to go through, where we've filed significant information. So we've filed almost 20,000 pages of information such that people can make an informed assessment of whether the project can be built and operated safely, of our track record, and of what we're going to do to ensure the chance of an incident is remote.

Natural Resources committee  Yes, the project is very much focused on ensuring that Canada gets full value for its resources. It is an export project. What we're working from is a world-class resource. The oil sands themselves would have 170 billion barrels of oil. So it's certainly a world-class resource that will be available for a long time.

Natural Resources committee  You'll definitely need more boats. We would anticipate you'd need in the order of 220 ships a year to service both the crude oil we would be exporting to the Pacific Rim and bringing condensate back into Canada.

Natural Resources committee  Just to be clear, the tanker exclusion zone relates to ships carrying crude oil from Alaska to the state of Washington. Today it does not preclude tankers from going in and out of our west coast. In fact, they do so today and have done so for decades. So there's no impact on that.

Natural Resources committee  Correct. It is very important that we provide long-term sustainable opportunities for the impacted first nations. It's very important to us that we do that. Through the dialogue we have had with the nations that are along the right-of-way, we've developed an economic package that we think would be very positive for the affected communities.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before your committee and to contribute to the study regarding energy security in Canada. I am pleased to be able to provide you with an update on the Northern Gateway Pipelines. It's a project that has the potential to provide a fundamental and long-lasting boost to the economies of not only B.C., Alberta, and Saskatchewan, but all across Canada.