Minister’s Message

I am pleased to present the 2013-2014 Departmental Performance Report for Natural Resources Canada (NRCan).

Over the past year, the Government of Canada has been guided by one overarching goal: creating jobs, growth and long-term prosperity for Canadians. Our work to advance Responsible Resource Development is a critical element of this economic agenda. The natural resource sectors are crucial to the economic prosperity of Canadians. The numbers speak for themselves. Directly or indirectly, natural resources accounted for almost one fifth of nominal GDP and 1.8 million jobs in 2013. On average, over the last five years, natural resource sectors have contributed about $30 billion per year to government revenue.

The work of NRCan, however, is about more than just numbers. Our focus this past year has been on diversifying and expanding our markets as well as increasing public confidence while enhancing competitiveness and improving environmental performance. Much of our work makes use of science and technology knowledge to enhance safety and help unlock our resource potential. Some of our achievements over the past year include:

• promoting market diversification, trade and investment opportunities through missions and outreach activities in many areas of the world, including Israel, Europe, China, Korea, India and Mexico;
• implementing our plan for Responsible Resource Development, including the publication of new regulations that will increase the protection of the environment and streamline regulatory reviews;
• implementing the new Emergency Geomatics Service system, used during the 2013 flood season in Manitoba and Alberta to enhance planning by emergency responders;
• supporting the market development and market access activities of forest product associations in traditional and in emerging offshore markets as well as in North America;
• enhancing energy efficiency to benefit Canadian consumers and businesses;
• advancing work on mandatory reporting for Canadian mining companies operating abroad in support of developing Canada’s Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy;
• supporting improvements to the coordination of Aboriginal engagement and consultation surrounding natural resource projects, including support for the Special Federal Representative on West Coast Energy Infrastructure; and
• introducing new measures to ensure Canada has a means for the safest form of transportation of our energy products;
• implementing new administrative processes that improve the efficiency of our operations.

This list is by no means exhaustive. I invite you to read this report to better understand how NRCan’s achievements support responsible resource development for the benefit of all Canadians.

I look forward to another productive year in which the responsible development of our natural resources will continue to help build a prosperous Canada for generations to come.

The Honourable Greg Rickford, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Natural Resources and
Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario