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The Chair (Mr. George Chahal (Calgary Skyview, Lib.))

03:36:28 p.m.
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I call this meeting to order. Welcome to meeting number 98 of the House and Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources. Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on Tuesday, November 29, 2022, the committee is commencing its study of Canada's electricity grid and network. Since today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format, I would like to make a few comments for the benefit of all. Before we begin, I would like to remind all members and other meeting participants in the room of the following important preventive measures. To prevent disruptive and potentially harmful audio feedback incidents that can cause injuries, all in-person participants are reminded to keep their earpieces away from all microphones at all times. As indicated in the communiqué from the Speaker to all members on Monday, April 29, the following measures have been taken to help prevent audio feedback incidents. All earpieces have been replaced by a model that greatly reduces the probability of audio feedback. The new earpieces are black in colour, whereas the former earpieces were grey. Please only use an approved black earpiece. By default, all unused earpieces will be unplugged at the start of the meeting. When you are not using your earpiece, please place it face down on the middle of the sticker that you will find on the table, as indicated. Please consult the cards on the table for guidelines to prevent audio feedback incidents. The room layout has been adjusted to increase the distance between microphones and reduce the chance of feedback from an ambient earpiece. These measures are in place so that we can conduct our business without interruption and protect the health and safety of all participants, including the interpreters. Thank you all for your co-operation. Here are some Zoom reminders. Please wait until I recognize you by name before speaking. All comments should be addressed through the chair. Additionally, screenshots or taking photos of your screen is not permitted. I would now like to welcome our witnesses who are with us today. From the Department of the Environment, we have Mark Cauchi, director general, energy and transportation; and Karishma Boroowa, director. From the Department of Natural Resources, we have Drew Leyburne, assistant deputy minister; Debbie Scharf, assistant deputy minister, energy systems sector; Cynthia Handler, senior director of science and technology; and Michael Paunescu, director. I will be using these cards. Yellow is a 30-second warning, and red means time is up. Members, we will do three full rounds for today's meeting. We'll start with Ms. Scharf. The floor is yours for five minutes.

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Ms. Debbie Scharf (Assistant Deputy Minister, Energy Systems Sector, Department of Natural Resources)

03:39:29 p.m.
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Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good afternoon, everyone. I'd like to first acknowledge that we gather on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people. Thank you for inviting us here today to talk about one of Canada's most important national assets. Like the railway or the St. Lawrence Seaway, our electricity sector is a significant Canadian—

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The Chair

03:39:50 p.m.
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Ms. Scharf, can I ask you to hold for one second? It seems there is a potential interpretation issue, or is it just audio not coming through the earpiece? It's not coming through. Nothing's coming through on the English. Is the translation coming through, Mr. Simard? What I'm being told is that the English audio is not coming through, but the French translation is coming through. Mr. Patzer, is it okay if we continue with the opening remarks while...? Thank you. My apologies, Ms. Scharf. Please start from the top.

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