My name is Ginny Flood. I'm the vice-president, government relations, with Suncor Energy, and I am based in Calgary. Thank you very much for the opportunity to present today, and good morning to everyone.

I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today on behalf of Suncor Energy. We're happy to return to the standing committee as you continue your study on the future of Canada's oil and gas, mining, and nuclear sectors.

My colleague, Steve Reynish, executive vice-president, strategy and corporate development, appeared by video conference in May when your focus was on the oil and gas sector. I'm pleased to be here to provide a perspective on the future of mining.

We have deposited the full text with the committee clerk, so I'll try to keep my remarks fairly brief so we have a lot of time for the discussion.

The mining sector in Canada is vibrant and important to the future development of Canada's natural resources. Suncor is proud to be an active member of the Mining Association of Canada, and we work to promote MAC's towards sustainable mining initiative, focused on three key elements: engaging with communities, driving world-leading environmental practices, and committing to the safety and health of employees and surrounding communities.

Since Suncor began oil sands operations in 1967, our industry has changed. It's grown and evolved significantly. We believe that Suncor is a great Canadian success story. For example, in 1992, Suncor went public with an IPO valued at $800 million, and today our market cap is about $65 billion. Next year, Suncor will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in the oil sands operations, the same year Canada celebrates its 150th.

With respect to mining, it's important to note that only about 20% of the oil sands resources are recoverable by traditional or open-pit mining techniques, with the remaining 80% recovered through various methods of in situ processes. Our past as well as our future success depends on being innovative.

Going forward, innovation will remain key to our ability to extract benefits from these resources for Canadians across the country for generations to come. We are keenly aware of the focus currently being placed on the transition to a low-carbon economy. We believe that Suncor has an important leadership role to play in this area.

Our vision is to be a trusted steward of the natural resources. We believe that through sustainable development focusing on economic prosperity, a healthy environment, and social well-being, we'll be able to help Canada meet its energy needs using oil derived from the lowest carbon intensity in the world. That long-term goal today means continuing to invest in various innovative technologies that improve our economics and reduce our environmental footprint, both in the oil sands specifically and across the company. On average, we invest about $200 million annually in technology and innovation.

Analyst projections in the foreseeable future are that the worldwide demand for energy will increase and that oil will remain a very significant part of the energy mix. The view of the future also comes with a growing recognition, especially with climate change, that the energy sector will need to transform itself to succeed in an increasingly carbon-constrained and cost-competitive world.

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development said it best in framing the 2050 climate change challenge as “9 billion people living well within the limits of the planet”. The goal of the energy system in this context is to deliver to nine billion people safe, affordable energy that minimizes carbon emissions.

At Suncor, we recognize the part we play. We are working hard to continue to reduce emissions. We measure our progress by the total emission intensity from the production of oil and petroleum products. We're committed to reducing our GHG intensity. We'll measure our progress against the target of reducing it by 30% by 2030. Our industry's ambition is to produce our oil with lower levels of greenhouse gas emissions than any other source of oil.

To reduce the GHG emission intensity, we are investing in new technologies. In mining, that includes waterless extraction processes, froth-treatment technologies, and autonomous haul systems. At in situ operations, that includes both solvent and microwave-assisted extraction processes, as well as more efficient steam-generation technology.

Of course, all of that requires collaboration across industry through organizations like Canada's Oil Sands Innovation Alliance, COSIA, and with government on public policy. We encourage governments to work with us through a robust R and D effort to reduce the carbon footprint and improve the economics of the future oil sands development.

Collaboration among energy producers, services, and technology providers, academia, indigenous groups, and the public sector is a necessary cornerstone to success. Together, we have innovative capacity and the paths to deployment to commercially implement clean technology to ensure Canada's oil remains carbon and cost-competitive. We can sell our cleaner oil worldwide, creating jobs and prosperity for Canada, while lowering global emissions.

Mining has also been an important part of Suncor's integrated model of operations. Fort Hills, our newest mine, is a reflection of that. Construction is now over 70% complete, with over 30-million construction hours safely behind us. We continue to advance the project with the aim of achieving first oil by the end of next year. The scope and scale of Fort Hills reminds us of the significant contribution that the oil and gas industry makes to Canada's economy. It underscores the considerable contribution in terms of job creation, revenue for government, and meeting the energy needs of Canadians every day.

We also believe that aboriginal engagement, working with the aboriginal communities, is also extremely important. I won't go into any detail right now, but I'll welcome any questions regarding the equity partnerships that we've just recently announced.

Thank you. I'm looking forward to the discussion.

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