Evidence of meeting #139 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 pricing.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Chair  Mr. John Aldag (Cloverdale—Langley City, Lib.)
Andrew Leach  Associate Professor, Alberta School of Business, University of Alberta, As an Individual
Nicholas Rivers  Associate Professor, University of Ottawa, As an Individual
Dale Beugin  Executive Director, Canada's Ecofiscal Commission
Mark Cameron  Executive Director, Clean Prosperity
David Sawyer  Senior Fellow, Smart Prosperity Institute
Mark Warawa  Langley—Aldergrove, CPC
Wayne Stetski  Kootenay—Columbia, NDP
Bev Shipley  Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, CPC
Julie Dzerowicz  Davenport, Lib.

4:45 p.m.

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

The Chair

Now we'll go to Mr. Shipley.

4:45 p.m.

Bev Shipley Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, CPC

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, witnesses. I've never had quite as astute a panel as we have today.

My questions are going to be pretty basic. Can you tell me the global percentage of emissions that Canada produces?

Mr. Rivers, go ahead.

4:45 p.m.

Associate Professor, University of Ottawa, As an Individual

Dr. Nicholas Rivers

We produce just under 2% of the world's emissions.

4:45 p.m.

Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, CPC

Bev Shipley

Can you tell me about the global emissions for China, India, Russia, the Eastern European countries, and Asia? These are all economists, folks, so I'm assuming they have all the numbers.

4:45 p.m.

Associate Professor, University of Ottawa, As an Individual

Dr. Nicholas Rivers

I'm not sure I can remember them all. China's about 26....

4:45 p.m.

Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, CPC

Bev Shipley

Well, I think the United States is actually in the 30%—

January 28th, 2019 / 4:45 p.m.

Associate Professor, University of Ottawa, As an Individual

Dr. Nicholas Rivers

No, it's a little lower than that. China's ahead of—

4:45 p.m.

Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, CPC

Bev Shipley

And we're less than 2%.

4:45 p.m.

Associate Professor, University of Ottawa, As an Individual

Dr. Nicholas Rivers

We're less than 2%.

4:45 p.m.

Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, CPC

Bev Shipley

They're our largest trading partner, I think. Can you tell me how much the $20 a tonne will reduce greenhouse gases in Canada?

4:45 p.m.

Associate Professor, University of Ottawa, As an Individual

Dr. Nicholas Rivers

I don't think we can say precisely, but I would have said, in the ballpark—

4:45 p.m.

Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, CPC

Bev Shipley

Can you tell me, then, how much, any of you—

4:45 p.m.

Associate Professor, University of Ottawa, As an Individual

Dr. Nicholas Rivers

The evidence that we've talked about said that the $30 per tonne price in British Columbia reduced emissions by between 5% and 15%.

4:45 p.m.

Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, CPC

Bev Shipley

When was that?

4:45 p.m.

Associate Professor, University of Ottawa, As an Individual

Dr. Nicholas Rivers

It was introduced in 2008.

4:45 p.m.

Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, CPC

Bev Shipley

So that was during the recession, as my colleague mentioned.

4:45 p.m.

Executive Director, Clean Prosperity

Mark Cameron

No. It was 2012 when it hit $30.

4:45 p.m.

Associate Professor, University of Ottawa, As an Individual

Dr. Nicholas Rivers

When it hit $30, it was 2012.

4:45 p.m.

Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, CPC

Bev Shipley

I'm just trying to get a handle, because one of the things we're talking about....

Mr. Chair, quite honestly, I've yet to hear about what it's going to do. All I hear about is the amount of money we're going to collect from people. For a bystander sitting out there, and me—I'm in agriculture, and this has a huge.... I know the panellists said this isn't going to...and everybody agrees with it. I can tell you that, in my riding, they don't agree with that.

My concern, then, is how much the reduction at $60 a tonne would be. We're going to start at $20 and go to $50, $60, $100 or $600. I'm not sure where it's going to be, because the government actually hasn't told us. What is the impact going to be in terms of carbon reduction at $30 a tonne?

4:45 p.m.

Associate Professor, University of Ottawa, As an Individual

Dr. Nicholas Rivers

The government has published estimates for what it believes the price will achieve.

4:45 p.m.

Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, CPC

Bev Shipley

Are those done on models?

4:45 p.m.

Associate Professor, University of Ottawa, As an Individual

Dr. Nicholas Rivers

It's based on models, yes.

4:45 p.m.

Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, CPC

Bev Shipley

Thank you.

4:45 p.m.

Associate Professor, University of Ottawa, As an Individual

Dr. Nicholas Rivers

The estimate, if I remember right, is between 50 and 90 megatonnes from the $50 per tonne price, and we're at about 710 megatonnes right now.

4:45 p.m.

Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, CPC

Bev Shipley

Can you tell me, from all your research, if CO2 is a pollutant?

Mr. Sawyer, go ahead.