Environment Committee on Sept. 20th, 2022

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

I think it's the same problem. We'll give it one last shot, but I assure you we will reinvite you and send you the proper headset.

I believe we still have the same problem. You can say a few words and we'll see, but I don't think anything has really changed.

[Dr. Michael Ross]

Okay. I'll try to answer the question as well as I can.

From a technological standpoint—

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

No, wait. We're just testing here.

[Dr. Michael Ross]

Oh, I see.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Could you say a few words? The interpreters will signal to me whether the situation has improved.

[Dr. Michael Ross]

It's cloudy outside in Whitehorse, but it doesn't look like it's going to rain.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

It has not improved. We will send you a headset and reinvite you.

In the meantime, if you have comments you would like to make in writing in response to any part of this discussion, please do so.

Mr. Longfield, you have six minutes.

[Lloyd Longfield, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thanks to the witnesses.

It's good to be back in Ottawa.

Before I get started with my questions, I have a motion I'd like to put on the table. I hope you can find unanimous consent for it. The motion reads as follows: “That the clerk of the committee be authorized to grant access to the committee's digital binder to the offices of the whips of each recognized party.”

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Is there unanimous consent to consider and adopt this motion? I see heads nodding.

(Motion agreed to)

Congratulations, Mr. Longfield, on the adoption of your motion.

[Lloyd Longfield, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Thank you.

Thank you to my colleagues and the whips behind us who are supporting all of us. Whatever we can do to help the whips help us is great.

I'd like to direct my first question to Ms. Jackson. Thank you for your presentation. Three minutes go quickly.

I want to follow up on your connections with innovation centres across Canada. I know you have a partnership with Innovation Guelph—one that's near and dear to me—and you're working with women's entrepreneurship through Innovation Guelph. There are the connections to Calgary and other innovation centres that we have in Canada, as well as the clean growth hub that we have in Ottawa. Now the clean growth hub is in place to try to help foster innovation and look for the barriers to adoption we've already been talking about in the committee this afternoon.

[Jeanette Jackson]

Sure.

Foresight, as an organization, is national. We work with over 20 different organizations in different regions and sectors, including associations, to provide a pillar of support around acceleration—so companies they're interested in learning more about, getting them further along in their commercialization pathway—and, on the adoption side, running innovation challenges for industry.

With Innovate Guelph, Climate Adventures, Platform Calgary, and Innovate Edmonton, we're all connected. We're looking at clean tech and climate and how we can make the acceleration of clean-tech development faster.

The clean growth hub has been a great portal. They seem to be thoughtfully convening different groups to try to get them to collaborate, share information and, most importantly, transfer knowledge from all the different ministries on what they're doing and what they're interested in in clean tech, whether it's funding buckets or events or initiatives, and trying to get that translated down to all the regional groups.

That would be our biggest engagement with the clean growth hub.

[Lloyd Longfield, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

The clean growth hub has put out a report. They were audited and reported back on improving communications to get better contact with the proper applicants, people who would be applying for things they can support through the clean growth hub.

Have you had any experience with what works or doesn't work with the clean growth hub? I know this isn't your thing, but as a customer, maybe.

[Jeanette Jackson]

We, as an organization, don't use the clean growth hub for our own funding. That was not an option for us. It's really about venture services.

It's interesting, because each ministry also has a portal for specific programs in the ministry, so it depends. I'll give an example. PacifiCan has the BSP program and a few other things. Most of the companies in that province go directly to that PacifiCan outlet. Obviously, there's a communication function and a portal management function for where you can apply for funds.

[Lloyd Longfield, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

They don't do direct funding, but they do the connections, as you said. Thank you for that.

I want to go to Mr. Moreau. It's really good to have your testimony from Quebec. I know that the Quebec government, provincially, has been a large supporter of Écotech and you've had good success working with the provincial government.

Could you mention the work with the federal government? Where are the opportunities for the federal government to help with your organization?

[Vincent Moreau]

Thank you for your question.

I will say this in French. It will be better for me, and also shorter.

Écotech Québec works a great deal with the provincial government to support companies that want to transition, to go green and improve their practices.

We would like to have greater ties with and support from the federal government. One of our recommendations is to improve funding for liaisons like us, who bring all the players together, whether it’s accelerators, financiers, venture capitalists, or companies, to better support them and establish more links.

In terms of the support these companies need right now, understand that the transition will happen faster and faster, and needs will become pressing. Therefore, in our opinion, this would be an opportunity for the federal government to support organizations across Canada that, like ours, serve as liaisons between companies with needs and companies with solutions, between the research sector and financiers.

That said, we are also part of...

[Lloyd Longfield, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

I'd like to interject.

I'm sorry to interrupt, but I noticed that you're also working in New York City with the smart cities connect challenge. I'm thinking that there might be some international opportunities that the federal government might be able to help with as well.

[Vincent Moreau]

Yes, that's true.

We work a great deal with Canadian agencies outside of Canada to promote the innovators and solutions we have here. This allows us to showcase our savoir-faire and technologies, and makes exporting them easier.

We are therefore working effectively at the international level with many players, with the entire Canadian network and with the network in the United States.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Thank you.

We are now moving on to Mrs. Vignola.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I will direct my questions to you, Mr. Moreau. Thank you for being with us.

I also thank all the other witnesses.

Écotech Québec has been around since 2009. Your exemplary activity has provided a high-quality framework for organizations walking the path you have laid out. I say bravo; you are an example.

The green economy is a very dynamic sector in Quebec and a real source of pride. The green economy generated annual revenues of $8.6 billion in 2018 and contributed $18.9 billion to Quebec’s GDP in 2019, while creating nearly 84,000 jobs. That’s tremendous.

Before I ask my questions, I would like to point out that I only have six minutes. Therefore, please be succinct. If there are any details that you feel are important to add, please feel free to send them to us in writing.

I would like to hear from you on the following points.

First, several billion dollars are being spent on reducing the carbon footprint. In your opinion, is Canada making the most of businesses—the real drivers of innovation, particularly in Quebec—and is it investing enough in them?

Secondly, your organization has certainly identified barriers to developing the full potential of Quebec clean tech companies, whether it be timeframes, program implementation, funding, subsidies, and so on. What obstacles did your organization identify? Have you found any likely solutions to overcome them?

[Vincent Moreau]

Thank you very much for the question. I won’t have enough time to answer it in six minutes, but we’ll be happy to send you our thoughts and the list of barriers we’ve identified.

It is good that many billions of dollars are available to drive the adoption of clean technologies. However, it also needs to be well directed and aligned. Also, we need to make sure there is proper accountability so that these programs and investments are actually contributing to protecting the environment and fighting climate change.

In the innovation sector right now, there are a lot of solutions. Some companies are struggling to meet their financial needs, that is, they’re always a little bit short on funding. In the case of both public and private funding, you can currently accumulate up to 75% in public contributions, but it is extremely difficult to get that 25% of private funding. How do we do it? By using blend financing or by giving more latitude. For example, municipal contributions could be considered private funding. These projects are about adopting clean technology and implementing it within their own jurisdiction, as customers or consumers. Several such solutions are possible.

Also, as you said, when it comes to the regulatory aspect, we need to speed up the approval processes that give access to programs. If it takes six or nine months to get the money, that’s too long for a small startup. It often takes a year and a half to two years to get the funding and test a technology to get it to market as soon as possible. That means programs need to be accelerated. We also need programs to be flexible and adapt over time, because what’s relevant today may not be relevant in two or three years.

I could tell you about it for the entire afternoon. Instead, I’ll send you our brief with our recommendations by October 10th.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Thanks to your work and to the impressive Radar portal, Quebec’s green economy has a magnificent showcase. Its clean innovations are spreading throughout the entire world. You mentioned it earlier, Congratulations.

[Vincent Moreau]

Thank you very much.

We’re very proud of this tool, which is promoting Quebeckers’ savoir-faire. I can tell you that economic development officers throughout the world use it, especially those in Canadian offices.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Well, you anticipated my question. I was just going to ask if we were in a situation where our visionaries are better known abroad than at home. You just answered my question. This tool is used a great deal in Quebec and Canada, as well as abroad.

[Vincent Moreau]

It is indeed used abroad. Our clean technology innovators and businesses are currently facing a challenge: it is easier to do business outside the province rather than within it, due to the regulatory aspect. The Canadian government could facilitate the transition on a regulatory level and make it easier to adopt or implement our clean technologies at home. The fiscal and regulatory aspects really need some attention.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

You just said that this tool is used extensively abroad, internationally, and I’d like to come back to that.

What are the advantages for businesses in Quebec and Canada to increase their use of a portal like Radar?