Marine Renewables Canada in Ottawa
In our efforts to gain support for the sector and provide awareness about industry progress and opportunities, Marine Renewables Canada hosted two successful outreach events in Ottawa last week on March 23rd. Both were aimed at providing information about the sector, highlighting that marine renewable energy (wave, tidal and river) is a national opportunity, and building relationships at the federal level.
Our Open House was held in downtown Ottawa in the afternoon and featured displays from 15 members as well as a series of industry updates from project developers, device developers, suppliers, and enabling/research organizations. We attracted participation from several federal government departments including SDTC, Innovation, Science, & Economic Development, ACOA, and Global Affairs Canada as well as NGOs like the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
The Reception on the Hill was likely our best government outreach effort to date – with three ministers in attendance from Environment and Climate Change, Innovation, Science & Economic Development, and Fisheries and Oceans, as well as MPs from across the country, federal government staff, and a strong representation of our membership. We are very grateful to Bill Casey, MP for Cumberland-Colchester in Nova Scotia and Senator James Cowan for co-hosting the event and helping us get such a great turnout at the event. Mr. Casey is a great champion for tidal energy and we hope this event helped to extend that enthusiasm to his colleagues.
The Federal Budget provides a number of supports that could be very beneficial for our sector, but we still have a lot of work to do to ensure that marine renewable energy plays a role in the development of Canada’s low carbon economy. We will keep you updated on progress being made and future events/initiatives that you could play a role in.
Thanks to those that joined us in Ottawa! For those that missed it – a few photos below and a link to photos on Bill Casey’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.557024897806895.1073741848.380331932142860&type=3
