Canada's abundant natural resources and its ability to develop them - sustainably and inclusively - are a significant comparative advantage in the global transition to a net-zero economy. That transition presents a generational economic opportunity for Canadians from coast to coast to coast. A key question on which Canada must collectively focus on is how to build on its regional comparative advantages in a manner that will create good jobs, economic opportunity and prosperity for all Canadians.
A significant part of the answer to that question is the Regional Energy and Resource Tables.
Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, announced five more provinces and territories are formally joining the Regional Energy and Resource Tables initiative, which is a partnership between the federal and provincial and territorial governments to support strong communities and job creation in every region of Canada.
With the addition of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories, and the Yukon, a total of eight provinces and territories are now participating in the Regional Energy and Resource Tables - after British Columbia, Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador helped launch Phase 1 on June 1, 2022. The federal government is setting up these tables during the next several months with the goal of establishing them with all 13 provinces and territories by early 2023.
At the federal level, the Regional Tables are an initiative led by Natural Resources Canada, involving multiple federal institutions, including Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada, the Regional Development Agencies and the Canada Infrastructure Bank. The Regional Energy and Resource Tables are collaborative fora that will bring the federal, provincial and territorial governments together with Indigenous partners, union partners, municipalities, industry, workers, experts and civil society to advance the top economic priorities in the natural resources space in every region of Canada through the development of place-based economic strategies. The Regional Energy and Resource Tables will gather input from relevant partners and seek to align resources, timelines and regulatory approaches to capitalize on key regional opportunities and priorities.
This collaboration will significantly advance the realization of economic opportunities that could range from mining critical minerals for made-in-Canada electric vehicles and batteries, to hydrogen in several regions across the country, to building small modular reactors. Other initiatives might include developing biofuels, making greater use of technologies such as carbon capture, utilization and storage, or advancing wind projects on the East Coast to generate clean electricity.
The Regional Energy and Resource Tables will help ensure that federal funding from existing sources are directed toward top regional priorities and projects, including the $8-billion Net Zero Accelerator, the $35-billion Canada Infrastructure Bank and the $3.8 billion allocated in Budget 2022 to implement Canada's first Critical Minerals Strategy. The Regional Energy and Resource Tables will also identify areas in which incremental resources may be required.
By working together, Canadians will create the good jobs and enduring prosperity that will come with the unprecedented economic opportunities of building a net-zero world.
