Natural Resources committee  I totally agree. Around the projects themselves, it provides greater certainty. That just backs up all the way through the supply chain in terms of potential customers, potential business, which is extremely important. I think what I would very much like to see is that same streamlined approach being applied to other approvals for development as well, both the approvals process and our very complex regulatory system in Canada.

Natural Resources committee  Maybe I could go first and just say yes, clearly there would be. I think what we need to do is look at what could encourage that type of investment to happen, looking at all parts of the investment equation there. But clearly, providing more value added in the processing, as well as in all of the supply around that, is very important.

Natural Resources committee  As Roger Larson said, it makes so much sense to have a one-window approach so that companies operating across Canada do not face a multiplicity of different compliance requirements. It isn't an issue about the regulatory outcome. We should be focusing on what delivers health, safety, better environmental management, and consumer protection.

Natural Resources committee  Definitely, by becoming more efficient, by increasing productivity, and this is important not only for consumers but for industry as well.... One of the biggest challenges that producers in energy face, and in resource development generally, is the need to lower the cost of the projects, bringing those projects in on time, and that is driving an awful lot of efficiency and innovation through manufacturing itself.

Natural Resources committee  Let me give you maybe two examples. One is the difference in welding standards in Alberta. The qualifications for a welder in Alberta are so high that it makes sense for companies to manufacture and to weld outside of Alberta and to import into Alberta, increasing the cost of the projects, but also making it very difficult for manufacturers to make sense of doing a lot of production in Alberta.

Natural Resources committee  Labour mobility is a major issue. We talk about the details of the bill and, generally, we need to look at what can facilitate better labour mobility. It's more than simply subsidizing travel. I think it's also.... I meet a lot of people flying from the Maritimes, for example, out to Fort McMurray and back on a regular basis, and one of the reasons is they just simply can't afford to live in Alberta and simply can't afford to sell their house in the Maritimes and move out to the west.

Natural Resources committee  —are reluctant to make that move. So, it's about the training of young people and reducing that apprenticeship age. I think companies have to take a much more active part in training and in apprenticeships, so we need to think about how they can do that here. To me, a part of that—I hear from all over the place, especially from small companies—is that they're unwilling to take the risk of investing in new apprentices or training young people because they're sure that someone else is going to come and poach them.

Natural Resources committee  To be able to develop the economic diversification we've been talking about and the value-added businesses and jobs around energy development, we need investment, particularly in new products that drive new processes. It's as true in upgrading and refining as it is in the entire supply chain.

Natural Resources committee  That's correct. That's been a fairly constant trend over the last ten years.

Natural Resources committee  You're creating a tremendous amount of demand for manufactured products, so it's creating jobs in a couple of ways that I've seen. First of all, in some areas like structural steel or steel tubes, pumps, valves, it's just an increase in demand, so of course the more massive production there is, the more jobs there are.

Natural Resources committee  I'll give you one example. Promation is a company that was....This is the other part of the opportunity, because it's at a time when we're coming out of a recession. The oil sands provide an opportunity for many companies to transition from auto, for example, that isn't doing as well, to supplying for the energy sector.

Natural Resources committee  Well, I think the bus company in Quebec—

Natural Resources committee  Yes, exactly.

Natural Resources committee  Yes. There's Ezeflow. There's Canam, which is a major manufacturer of structural steel products. We can certainly provide a list of companies—

International Trade committee  Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Chair, for the opportunity to say a few words to the members of this committee. Joy and I represent the private sector here today in your discussion. I have to say that I have a bit of a—