Thank you, Madam Chair.
I'd like to thank the witnesses for being with us today.
This is essentially our last session for examining the Inflation Reduction Act. Many have described it as a game-changer. Those are not just my words. They are also those of Elizabeth Kwan of the Canadian Labour Congress, who indicated the huge impact it's going to have.
I want to follow up on my colleague Mr. Seeback's line of questioning about the IRA and the notion of providing certainty.
You know what the rules are. You know about the tax credits and the production credits, so you can actually figure out the competitive advantage to investing in the United States. Ms. Green indicated that the IRA provides certainty, a competitive edge. Mr. Marshall mentioned that lacking a stronger response, it will be almost impossible for Canada to compete.
My first question is for Ms. Green.
You indicated that projects have been on hold since August and that excluding the investment tax credit in the fall economic statement was a mistake. For example, you see situations arising from the difference between the IRA and what we do in Canada.
For the clean fuels fund, a $1.5-billion announcement from the government was made in June 2021, but it took 18 months—until November 2022—for the government to make its initial round of announcements. Even so, we still need to negotiate agreements that can be put in place. We already know what the rules in place are. You've already talked about projects being on hold.
CBC had a story the other day about Ottawa preparing to go toe to toe with the U.S. to subsidize EV battery production in Canada. Here's one of the comments that was made:
A consultant who works on the green economy in Canada said several companies are now calculating subsidies that may be available in the United States. Even a company that already has promised to invest in Canada is reassessing the situation in light of the Inflation Reduction Act....
What do we need to do now to compete to keep those dollars in Canada and keep investments in RNG projects in my riding in southern Ontario, for example?
Just in 2020, General Motors did a $28-million project on methane gas with our local landfill company, Walker Industries. It produces 35% of their power. It produces heat for the plant and reduces their GHG emissions. What do we need to do right now so we can compete and keep that investment in Canada?
Go ahead, Ms. Green.