Manitoba Hydro is a leader in conservation. We're responsible for much of the delivery of conservation programs, energy efficiency programs, here within the province of Manitoba. Through that, we develop numerous relationships, and one of those is with Red River College.

Well, we became involved with Manitoba Hydro through a downtown office project back in 2005. They were looking for a lab with which to work to do the prototype for the building envelope for the building we're sitting in. They wanted to have a very energy-efficient building, and we wanted to make sure that the new technology we're incorporating in the Manitoba Hydro Place would be appropriate for the climate we have here, especially the extreme cold.

This building is very different. It embraces the outside world, and that requires a lot of very innovative technologies. We use passive solar technologies through the curtain wall, through the many different types of glass that we incorporate into the building. Rather than using fans to move air, we use natural convection.

We received the Sustainability Award from the province back in 2009, and then most recently from an international organization, for the work we've been doing in sustainable technologies.

There has to be an opportunity to examine new technologies, understand their relevance to Manitoba, and look at ways of adopting them. Our partnerships with Red River College allow us to do that. The Manitoba electric bus project is a really exciting project, in that it's cutting edge.

In 2010 the Province of Manitoba provided funding to Red River to create what we call EV Tech, or Electrical Vehicle Technology and Education Centre, to address the development of an all-electric battery transit bus. So as a result of the original project and some subsequent support from other organizations, we now have five buses on the road.

Our partnerships with Red River College allow us to explore different ways to use technologies, to be innovative, to be creative, and that's a real fundamental part of our relationship with Red River College.