HT:Senate Committee on Energy, Economy and Natural Resources renews mandate to investigate Canada's energy future
Since beginning its investigation into the current and future status of Canada's energy sector in the summer of 2009, the Senate's Standing Committee on Energy, the Economy and Natural Resources has been an under-recognized wealth of information on the country's energy supply and demand.
Over the past two years the committee has heard testimony from federal and provincial Cabinet ministers, academic and industry experts, Canada's federal environment commissioner, and representatives from arm's length government panels such as the National Round Table on Energy and the Economy, and non-governmental organizations such as the Sierra Club.
The committee's first year of hearings produced a comprehensive report intended to initiate discussion on a nationwide sustainable energy strategy. Last year's Attention Canada report presented facts, figures, and statements on national and international energy consumption, fossil fuel reserves, sustainable and renewable resources, and the ecological impacts of viable energy sources.
Among the committee's collected findings:
•Fossil fuels and natural gas produce 83 per cent of Canada's energy;
•Hydro, solar, and wind account for eight per cent;
•Worldwide energy consumption is on pace to grow by 40 per cent in the next 20 years;
•Canada is the world's eighth highest GHG emitter;
•Oil sands production could triple by 2030;
•The federal government is committed to 90 per cent emissions-free electricity by 2020;
•At current worldwide energy consumption rates, greenhouse gases could raise average temperatures to six degrees by 2100;
•Wind is the fastest growing energy source in Canada.
While many policy conclusions can be inferred from the report's findings, committee chair Conservative Senator David Angus (Alma, Que.) insisted that the committee's mandate is not to make policy, but to raise the issues that a national energy strategy must address.
In a recent interview with The Hill Times, Sen. Angus acknowledged that there is federal resistance to engagement on national energy issues.
"Even though it's a provincial matter, in one sense, it's also important that we have a coordinated national strategy in terms of our energy security for the future," he observed. "There's been nothing here for many years, and there seems to be a fear at some levels of using the words 'national energy program' since the NEP was abolished back in the early '80s."
Successive federal governments have avoided taking a strong role in national energy issues since the Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney dismantled Pierre Trudeau's Western-loathed National Energy Program, which attempted to achieve energy self-sufficiency while nationally redistributing oil revenues.
Sen. Angus and the committee's deputy-chair, Alberta Liberal Senator Grant Mitchell, credit their colleagues, British Columbia Sen. Richard Neufield and Alberta Progressive Conservative Sen. Elaine McCoy, with initiating the committee's current mandate as a response to the lack of legislation on energy issues. Both were acknowledged for contributing valuable insight early on in the study; Sen. Neufield served as B.C.'s Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources before being appointed to the Senate, and Sen. McCoy served as Alberta's minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs in the late 1980s.
While Canada's long-term energy supply is the primary focus of the committee, Sen. Mitchell and Sen. Angus agreed in separate interviews with The Hill Times that addressing climate change has been necessary throughout the first two years of the committee's current investigation.
Sen. Mitchell told The Hill Times that over the past two years it has become apparent from testimony by the civil service, industry, and NGOs, that there is no coordinated plan at the federal level to sustainably manage Canada's energy supply into the future.
"I believe fundamentally in evidence-based policy, and I think we're in denial about climate change. It is happening. The science tells us that, and you can't be selective about the science that you listen to," said Sen. Mitchell, who led the Alberta Liberal Party from 1994 until 1998. "The Conservative Party believes in the science of economics, and some how that's counter to the science of climate change, so we just deny the science of climate change."
Sen. Angus concurred that a comprehensive study of energy could not be conducted in isolation from environmental and economic considerations.
"This is not a study on climate change, but on the other hand, when you're dealing with energy and the need for cleaner and more sustainable energy, you have to look at the environmental considerations," Sen. Angus said.
Despite their parties' differences on environmental policy, both Senators stressed that the committee has maintained a strong working relationship that will continue as the hearings enter their third year. "We have an agreement between us that we will not have votes at this committee on this study," Sen. Angus said. "We're approaching it objectively, so it's going very well."
Sen. Mitchell said the hearings have found near unanimous agreement within the energy industry that carbon pricing is necessary to combat climate change.
"Industry, NGOs, you name it. ... Almost everybody says 'Yes, we need to price carbon.' And almost everybody, including industry, says the best way to do that, although maybe not politically doable, is through a carbon tax," Sen. Mitchell said. "I'm struck by the overwhelming consensus that we need to price carbon, and the industry in particular wants some certainty about."
When the committee released its preliminary report last summer, it was authorized to release a final report by the end of June 2011. However, Sen. Angus conceded that the report was behind schedule, due in part to the recent election. Last week the committee began the process of renewing its mandate for a third year of investigation into Canada's energy strategy.
On the agenda for the coming year will be special hearings on the safety of shale gas extraction and nuclear power, and testimony from Environment Minister Peter Kent (Thornhill, Ont.) and Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver (Eglinton-Lawrence, Ont.). Sen. Angus said the committee also planned to complete its province-by-province tour of Canadian energy facilities.
