Evidence of meeting #130 for Environment and Sustainable Development in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was carbon.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Chair  Mr. John Aldag (Cloverdale—Langley City, Lib.)
Miodrag Jovanovic  Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Tax Policy Branch, Department of Finance
Pierre Mercille  Director General, Sales Tax Division, Tax Policy Branch, Department of Finance
Timothy Gardiner  Senior Director, Offshore Petroleum Management Division, Department of Natural Resources
Judy Meltzer  Director General, Carbon Pricing Bureau, Department of the Environment
Philippe Giguère  Manager, Legislative Policy, Department of the Environment
Mark Warawa  Langley—Aldergrove, CPC
Wayne Stetski  Kootenay—Columbia, NDP
Joe Peschisolido  Steveston—Richmond East, Lib.
Mike Lake  Edmonton—Wetaskiwin, CPC
Julie Dzerowicz  Davenport, Lib.

5:25 p.m.

Director General, Carbon Pricing Bureau, Department of the Environment

Judy Meltzer

That's correct. Also, incentives change. Different technologies come online—as we refer to it—at different price points, but that's correct.

5:25 p.m.

Liberal

Mike Bossio Liberal Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON

I'd like to pass the floor back to Mr. Stetski, if he has anything else he wants to ask. I really just wanted to get those three points put out there. Thank you.

5:25 p.m.

Mr. John Aldag (Cloverdale—Langley City, Lib.)

The Chair

You have just over a minute, Wayne.

5:25 p.m.

Kootenay—Columbia, NDP

Wayne Stetski

We've heard several times in question period in Parliament in the last little while that the heaviest polluters are exempt. Is that true?

5:25 p.m.

Director General, Carbon Pricing Bureau, Department of the Environment

Judy Meltzer

No. We are developing a separate component for heavy industry. We're talking about industry that's emitting 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year or more. Again, this is a fairly common approach that's used in different systems, including Alberta, and in other jurisdictions as well. The reason we're doing a separate approach is to ensure that any competitiveness and carbon leakage risks are minimized. I'm talking about the risk of displacement of economic activity.

That system is currently being developed, and draft regulations will be coming out later this fall that provide details on that. In short, the output-based pricing component system, the component for heavy industry, will put a price signal on emissions to create an incentive to reduce emissions and innovate, but at the same time it will mitigate competitiveness and carbon leakage risks.

5:25 p.m.

Mr. John Aldag (Cloverdale—Langley City, Lib.)

The Chair

That takes us pretty much to the end of our meeting time today.

I'd like to thank all of the witnesses for being here today. I think you've given us some really good information, and that will be useful for Thursday when we get into our discussion.

With regard to Thursday, we have 46 hours for all members to figure out their technology and how to make it not ding, so I would encourage you to look into that if you need some time to prepare for the next meeting.

The meeting is adjourned.