Environment Committee on May 28th, 2008

[Alan Latourelle]

Mr. Chairman, approximately 750 other sites belong to community organizations, provincial governments, other federal government agencies—for example, National Defence has a number of them—which manage them. They are responsible for managing those buildings or places, and they receive funding in order to do so.

[Marcel Lussier, Bloc, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

That doesn't appear in your budgets? There isn't any... All right.

Mr. McLaughlin.

[Alan Latourelle]

Pardon me, I would simply like to confirm that, in our budget, there is approximately $1.1 million for a grants and contributions program to support those organizations, which are third parties.

[Marcel Lussier, Bloc, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

All right.

Mr. McLaughlin, you mentioned in your brief that you are responsible for designing a carbon price instrument.

Do you intend to do that yourself, with your staff, or to contract out to specialized firms?

[David McLaughlin]

I would ask the committee to go to page 16 of the English version of the Report on Plans and Priorities. It's on page 18 in French.

Here we have a list of our programs and policy priorities we're looking at. You'll see at the top of page 18, in French, Le prix du carbone: conception et mise en oeuvre d'un instrument.

The round table is embarking on a project that will take most of this year to complete, whereby we are furthering our work from our report, Getting to 2050 , released in early January, which said that market-based policies were probably the best way to get deep greenhouse gas emission reductions. So as part of that, we want to look at the best forms of policy instrument design, particularly a carbon tax versus a cap and trade. To get to that, we will have some work done inside by staff, but we will also, of course, use modelling experts in Canada, as well as other academic and policy experts across the country and elsewhere.

[Marcel Lussier, Bloc, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Sylvester, you say in your brief that you assess large-scale projects. Considering the rights and interests of aboriginal people, how many environmental studies were conducted on the oil sands? How many have you done in the past? How many are currently underway and how many are you planning in future?

[Peter Sylvester]

If I understood the question, Mr. Chairman, I'm being asked how many in-depth studies...

[Marcel Lussier, Bloc, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

... environmental assessments on the oil sands.

[Peter Sylvester]

I could provide you the overall number of in-depth studies that have been conducted on the oil sands, but I don't have that information here today. We recently completed three, including the Kearl, and Muskeg projects in Alberta. At least three or four of some 20 in-depth studies overall are currently very active.

[Marcel Lussier, Bloc, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Do those studies occupy a lot of your staff, or is the work contracted out?

[Peter Sylvester]

These projects on the oil sands are often—I would even say always—assigned to joint commissions of the agency and a regulatory tribunal of the Province of Alberta. So these are joint reviews. The agency is responsible for providing secretariat support to the joint commissions. So we have employees on site to prepare for the hearings, but there is also a considerable investment by Agency employees in the preparation of the agreement for the joint commission and in the preparation of parameters for this exercise.

[Marcel Lussier, Bloc, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

My question mainly concerned aboriginal peoples.

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Mr. Lussier, pardon me, but we now have to turn the floor over

to Mr. Vellacott, followed by Mr. Scarpaleggia.

Mr. Vellacott, for five minutes.

[Maurice Vellacott, Conservative, Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I have about three questions, and I'm not sure what time we'll have in the way of answers for each of them.

I want to start off with respect to the vehicle scrappage program, which I note we're seeking some new funding for. Because it's a program that meets us where we're at, if we have old clunkers or old vehicles, could you describe for us how you've been advertising it and what are the practical nuts and bolts of the program for an individual who has old vehicles, including the compensation they will get? Can you describe that very briefly?

That's my first question, and then I want to go to carbon capture after that.

[Ian Shugart]

I'd be pleased to do that, Chair.

The principle, I think, of the vehicle scrappage program is clear: it is primarily to take older, polluting vehicles off the road, taking advantage of the greater fuel efficiency and cleaner emission standards that are applied to newer models. We do that in collaboration with local non-profit organizations who have this in their mission.

There is an incentive provided to consumers, administered by these organizations, and the government provides financial support to the organizations. The form of that incentive can vary, from a cash rebate in the order of $300, I think, for a vehicle. What is particularly advantageous is not necessarily the trade-in for another vehicle, but the public transit subsidy, or the use of bicycles, and those kinds of thing.

So it's a partnership program with that objective, and it includes a rebate.

[Maurice Vellacott, Conservative, Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK]

Do we have those in every province across the country, in every region? In Saskatchewan, for example, would we have it in Saskatoon or Regina? Do you happen to have those details or can you maybe provide them to us?

[Ian Shugart]

The intention is to roll it out everywhere by the end of 2008-2009. Cécile may know more.

[Cécile Cléroux]

Currently we have seven groups across the country. Unfortunately, I don't know those by heart and don't have the data with me.

These incentives are going to be deployed around the rest of the country, so the intention is exactly that every part of the country will be covered and every citizen will be able to apply for these kinds of programs.

[Maurice Vellacott, Conservative, Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK]

When do you anticipate having that up and fully going?

[Cécile Cléroux]

By the end of 2008-09.

[Maurice Vellacott, Conservative, Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK]

Okay, thank you.

On the issue of carbon capture and storage, particularly as it relates to my province, I think we could probably fairly say that the province of Saskatchewan, down in the Weyburn country, has become a bit of a leader in that area. In Budget 2008, we've earmarked some $240 million in trust for Saskatchewan for further development there.

What would be the implications of that carbon capture on the surrounding communities down in that south part of the province of Saskatchewan, for example, or in the vicinity of where carbon capture is going on? What is the impact in the region, the area, geographically and otherwise?

[Cécile Cléroux]

Mr. Chair, of the different projects that currently exist for carbon capture and storage, we do have one in Weyburn for enhancement and recovery of oil. In all the monitoring that has been done throughout this project, which has been there for almost a decade now, we have no reason to believe there is any leakage or any threat to any of the surrounding communities.

For sure, as we are progressing and looking at carbon capture and storage on a greater base, we need to continue the monitoring to make sure no population would be exposed to any gases that would be a danger to them. This is part of why we are deploying carbon capture and storage in a very organized manner and not letting it be just like that. But at this time we have no indication whatsoever of any threat to communities.

[Maurice Vellacott, Conservative, Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK]

So there are no adverse effects that we're aware of at this point, and you'll continue to monitor as we go.

[Cécile Cléroux]

Exactly.

[Maurice Vellacott, Conservative, Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK]

Mr. Chair, do I have a few minutes left?