Transport committee  Yes. Thank you very much. When we look at our efforts with first nations—and, by the way, with almost any other stakeholder that's included in any of our projects—we definitely take a “stakeholder first” approach. We engage with first nations and others to make sure that we have the conversations, which we've just started, in order to figure out what the right opportunities are in terms of both potential investment and other levels of participation, including community benefits.

Transport committee  Yes. Again, I'll point to some of the other projects we've done. I believe there is a role for all stakeholders involved in these kinds of projects, but I think it's also important for all the stakeholders to truly understand the benefits that these kinds of projects bring. As we've heard, increased loads, and increased economic development as a result of those loads, create the opportunities for these types of projects to be a key resource for the Canadian taxpayer and for all the stakeholders involved, including first nations.

Transport committee  I don't believe I said that. We have taken over the project. We have bought the project development rights to the general partnership for the project, and we are re-engaging with the CIB and all of the parties in order to start the negotiations for commercial arrangements.

Transport committee  We have just started negotiations with CIB, and we've come to the table with them to truly understand what that commercial arrangement is going to be. We did not inherit any funding. We did not inherit any arrangements that they may or may not have had with the previous developer.

Transport committee  What I'm specifically talking about is any kind of funding. In my opening statement, I was very clear about the fact that we, as NextEra and the current owner of this project, have not received any funding from the CIB to date, which is the reason we've engaged in conversations with CIB, to determine what their financing arrangements would look like and whether we can reuse some of the due diligence efforts that they've previously done.

Transport committee  It's a great point, a great question. I think there are a lot of benefits that we have with any of our financing partners. When I look at this project, again, we've done our due diligence. We understand that there is viability for the project, and we have engaged in commercial discussions with the CIB, because we view them to be a good partner and a potentially good investor in the project.

Transport committee  Again, I was not involved in the project when CIB was doing due diligence with the previous developer. I believe that there's going to be due diligence needed to go forward. I think it speaks to my earlier comment that the CIB and any other investor has to do their due diligence in order to understand what the right criteria for the project are.

Transport committee  I can't speak to what kind of due diligence the CIB will be requiring going forward. What I can tell you is that we're going to bring forward the project to them and enter into commercial negotiations when the time is right in order to figure out whether this project, the Lake Erie connector, which we're very excited about, is going to be the right investment for the CIB and all the parties that are engaged.

Transport committee  I certainly can't comment on the CIB's structure, as I'm not familiar with it. However, again, when we consider this project with the involvement of the CIB and its due diligence efforts, it is really important for the CIB to understand what the true project looks like, what the investment return is on their side, and whether it's an investment they should make.

Transport committee  That's exactly what we're starting to go into discussions with. I know the previous owner potentially had some agreements in place. We did not inherit those with our purchase, but that is exactly why we're starting the conversations, and we are very excited about the letters of support that we've gotten.

Transport committee  Yes, absolutely. I think the due diligence work that the CIB has done has a benefit to us. I think the benefit is—from my previous answer to MP Rogers—that we don't have to start from scratch in our due diligence efforts with the CIB. They already have some of the fundamental information there, and we can build on that information to determine whether the CIB investment is right for us and also for the CIB and the Canadian taxpayer.

Transport committee  I really can't speak to what Quebec would do or not do, but I will tell you that I think one of the reasons this project is viable and makes sense to us is the connection between Ontario and PJM. That is a very strong connection and a very important connection for reliability and resiliency.

Transport committee  I'll give you a quick answer. There have been a lot of different changes in the system that our due diligence efforts have revealed are beneficial to the project. Yes, I'm certainly not going to argue that inflation has improved or the supply chain has improved. We're certainly working through those issues, but, at the same time, our own analysis and our experts' analysis have shown that this is a viable project, and we want to move forward.

Transport committee  Yes, absolutely. Again, when we think about the CIB, I think it's enabling Canadian infrastructure. However, I also think, as I mentioned, that having the mechanism for first nations' involvement is very important. Going back to my previous answer, I think that when we look at the CIB, that enables a potentially easier path for first nations to be involved in a project like this.

Transport committee  I do think that the benefits the CIB brings to the table are really important. Again, we look at it from the standpoint of financing, but we also look at it from the standpoint of other participation that's included. We view the CIB as a potential investor, because it's one of the investors that we would like to work with.