Environment Committee on May 9th, 2024

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

What do you mean it's hard to say?

[Barbara Zvan]

We have sold companies through our external managers that had thermal coal. We are well into reducing our targets. This year we'll be meeting a 16% reduction in our emissions, so we're going to be net zero by 2040. It is part of a larger-scale program.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Then you don't know how many emissions are going to be—

[Barbara Zvan]

I don't have the number off the top of my head, but I'm happy to provide it. I can tell you that this year, with all of our collective policies together, we have reduced about 17% of our emissions. That's in the three years that we've been—

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Okay, and you would table that document on emissions that have been directly reduced.

[Barbara Zvan]

Yes, I'm happy to provide that.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Okay, good.

Ms. Zvan, in your speaking notes, you mentioned that Canadian GDP and productivity are “trending in the wrong direction with no obvious turnaround in sight.” I agree with you. However, your report recommends more reporting regulations.

Can you provide a specific example of when adding more regulations and disclosure requirements to Canadian businesses directly increased productivity?

[Barbara Zvan]

In terms of our companies being healthy, attracting financing and being able to create jobs and productivity, reporting is becoming the norm. Let me give you an example. With the ISSB, you will have 164 jurisdictions providing this reporting. Climate Action 100+, which has 700 investors behind it, requires this reporting. Money flows to where it goes the easiest.

If Canadian companies are not providing this reporting, they will not have the attention of investors. Therefore, they will not get financing and they will not be able to do the things they need to do.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

I guess it wouldn't increase productivity.

[Barbara Zvan]

No, it would not increase productivity.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Thank you.

How much will it cost a company to comply with the climate-related financial disclosure expectations of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions?

[Barbara Zvan]

There is a cost, but we're planning to take on the same cost. However, I would note the cost—

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

How much is that cost?

[Barbara Zvan]

I don't know the cost off the top for those financial institutions. Banks have 90,000 employees. They're significant operations. It would be a significant cost to take those on. However—

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Is it 1% or 2% of profits?

[Barbara Zvan]

You would need to ask a bank CEO for that.

However, for them to operate in a global landscape, they need to provide this reporting. Money is not just coming.... This is becoming the norm, so the cost of not providing it means that you are not getting financing from global investors. I think that cost is much bigger.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

However, we don't know what the cost is of providing it directly.

[Barbara Zvan]

No, but the cost of not providing it is not getting the financing. A really good example—

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The time is up.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

I have a point of order, Mr. Chair. I waited until my colleague Dan Mazier was finished in order to say this.

I think it's really important that we treat our expert witnesses with dignity and respect, that we allow them to finish their sentences when they've been asked a question directly and that we allow them to get their thoughts out before a member starts a new question or demands a yes or no. It's really important that we treat the witnesses who come here on their own time with that level of decorum.

Thank you.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

On that point of order, I'm very pleased to hear a Liberal saying that after what happened two days ago at the other committee. The point is that when we ask a question—

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

What committee are we talking about?

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

With all due respect, I will not repeat what your colleague from Glengarry—Prescott—Russell said at the committee.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

We are getting a little off topic. There is no point of order.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Chair, when we ask a question and request a yes or no answer to it, the answer has to be yes or no.