Evidence of meeting #41 for Industry, Science and Technology in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was electricity.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Vice-Chair, Brookfield Asset Management Inc.
I'm sorry, I'm not going to have the premises of that question stand. I do not intervene. I do not influence.
I would remind the members of this committee—
Vice-Chair, Brookfield Asset Management Inc.
I would remind your that I am an envoy of the United Nations, an adviser to the U.K. Prime Minister—
Conservative
Vice-Chair, Brookfield Asset Management Inc.
—with respect to COP26, and that the United Nations and the U.K. government have determined—
Conservative
Vice-Chair, Brookfield Asset Management Inc.
If I may, I have testified about a hundred times to Parliament over my career.
Vice-Chair, Brookfield Asset Management Inc.
I am normally allowed to answer the question.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sherry Romanado
Mr. Poilievre, may I ask that you allow the witness to answer before you talk over him, because we can't hear the answer. Thank you.
Vice-Chair, Brookfield Asset Management Inc.
I represent the United Nations. I represent the U.K. government.
Conservative
Vice-Chair, Brookfield Asset Management Inc.
We have a public strategy.
I would like to answer the question.
Conservative
Shannon Stubbs Conservative Lakeland, AB
On a point of order, Madam Chair, that's a great idea. I think the witness probably should answer the MP's question, since that's what we're supposed to do at committee.
Conservative
Shannon Stubbs Conservative Lakeland, AB
My point of order is to ask the witness to answer the yes-or-no question in the same time that it took the member to ask him the question. That's the practice of committee, and that's what witnesses are here at committee to do: just answer the question by members of Parliament.
Thanks, Chair.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sherry Romanado
Madam Stubbs, this committee gives the six minutes or the round to the MP, and they can use that round as they see fit. The committee does not have the same practice as the House.
I will let Mr. Poilievre continue. He has about 20 seconds remaining in his round. If he'd like to ask the witness a question, we will wait for the answer. Thank you.
Conservative
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON
Your company says that it seeks to make profit off of the so-called green investments, which usually mean government subsidies.
You have financial interest in these policies, sir. Your bonus is probably tied to them.
Did you register to lobby the many ministers, deputy ministers and staff that you've contacted since you took this job, yes or no?
Vice-Chair, Brookfield Asset Management Inc.
I don't lobby, period.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sherry Romanado
Unfortunately, that's your round of questions, MP Poilievre.
We will now go to MP Lambropoulos for five minutes.
Liberal
Emmanuella Lambropoulos Liberal Saint-Laurent, QC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I'd like to thank all of our witnesses for being with us to answer our questions today.
Mr. Carney, my questions will mainly be going to you.
As you know, it's still quite expensive for companies, especially smaller businesses, to transition to greener practices at this point in time.
I'm asking, from an investor's perspective, if you can give some advice to smaller and medium-sized businesses in order to help them successfully transition to net zero. Also, what can the government do to help them get to that point?
Vice-Chair, Brookfield Asset Management Inc.
Well, one of the ways to help small and medium-sized businesses is to ensure that our larger businesses are transitioning to net zero and are doing so in a transparent and comprehensive fashion.
Let me explain what I mean by that. The extent to which the larger companies include not just their own emissions from their activities but also the power scope 2 emissions, as you're familiar with, but also scope 3 emissions, very importantly—in other words, the emissions of their major suppliers and downstream customers—that creates an alignment of incentives between the various companies that can promote the reduction of those emissions.
With regard to elements that are associated with the disclosure of those emissions, I referenced in my opening comments the TCFD disclosure requirements. I also referenced net-zero transition plans, and the comprehensive plans that companies have that increasingly Canadians are putting in place. I referenced consistent requirements for the financial sector, including, very importantly, banks, which are, of course, the biggest source of finance for small and medium-sized enterprises. That could create an alignment and provide capital for exactly the type of emissions reductions....
If I may, as a final point, this is the heart of the publicly disclosed, publicly available, universally applied COP26 private finance strategy, for which I serve the UN.
