Natural Resources committee  No, we don't. We think they're overly restrictive. We believe the rules and limitations on what should be an incentive are unnecessary. If our federal policy is to promote investment in electrical infrastructure, whether it's generation, transmission or smart distribution systems, then those should be structured as an incentive.

Natural Resources committee  Our policy is that a price on carbon is a good means of facilitating a migration to renewables. A policy decision can be taken on what to do with the revenue, but we think that imposing a price on carbon changes the balance from fossil fuels to renewables in our economy.

Natural Resources committee  Yes, absolutely, we can provide that.

Natural Resources committee  Some examples that come to mind are local building codes and standards for electric equipment. For example, in Ontario, most recently there's been a debate about whether the electricity service for new residential construction should be able to accommodate an electric house instead of a natural gas heated house.

Natural Resources committee  The impact on energy rates from a substantial investment in new equipment and new technology in our view is going to have an impact that needs to be looked at very carefully. You're looking at assets that today have been amortized over decades. As I said in my remarks, we're talking about replacing that entire infrastructure over again in the next 25 years.

Natural Resources committee  I don't have it off the top of my head. That's a number I can report back to the committee on, though.

Natural Resources committee  We have not investigated every market in Canada. We certainly acknowledge that there are markets in Canada that don't have great hydro potential, but I would say at the outset that we are 10 years away from that goal. The development of any hydro project, including the environmental assessment and the construction process, would take us beyond 2035.

Natural Resources committee  If somebody said “go” tomorrow, we're in a six- to seven-year environmental assessment process and probably a ten-year planning and construction process, so we would be 2040—best case.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm Gilbert Bennett, representing WaterPower Canada. Thank you to the honourable members for the opportunity to appear before this committee today. WaterPower Canada represents Canada’s hydro power industry. Hydro power provides 60% of Canada’s electricity, with over 82,000 megawatts in service.