Evidence of meeting #4 for Natural Resources in the 44th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was cap.
A video is available from Parliament.
Bloc
Mario Simard Bloc Jonquière, QC
I want to ask Ms. Hastings‑Simon a question. She said earlier that the electrification of transportation is a good way to reduce oil production.
Does she feel that electrification of transportation is receiving enough support from the government to ensure that we meet our climate change targets?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal John Aldag
We're at the end of the time, but I'll give you the floor for a minute to respond.
Assistant Professor, University of Calgary, As an Individual
There certainly is financial support toward the electrification of transportation, both subsidies for vehicles and charging stations. I think the policies that are missing on transportation electrification are actually policies that would help make electric vehicles more available for consumers, things like requirements or targets for manufacturers for the number they must sell in the country in a given year.
Liberal
NDP
Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON
Thank you folks. This has been a fascinating discussion.
My concern is that I feel in Canada it's so very parochial, because when we start looking inward and our failures to address these issues, it somehow becomes that we're being mean to the oil sector and to Alberta, when that's not the issue. The issue is, how do we get through this as a country and as a planet?
I think of the environment commissioner, who's just stated:
Canada was once a leader in the fight against climate change. However, after a series of missed opportunities, it has become the worst performer of all G7 nations since the landmark Paris Agreement.
He adds:
we need action and results, not just more targets.
To that, Dr. Hastings-Simon, I'd like to talk about “bankable”, because we have this thing that we're floating here, that we can do massive increases in production, but somehow those are separate from emissions.
Yet in the last three years, the insurance giant The Hartford has pulled out of Canada. The Swedish central bank has pulled out. The financial giant BlackRock has pulled out. Agence AXA International has pulled out. AP7, the Swedish company has divested. BNP Paribas group has divested. Le groupe Société Générale of France has pulled out. The Norway sovereign wealth fund has pulled out. The Swiss Re Group and Zurich Insurance have pulled out. They all don't believe that Canada is serious about having a credible environmental plan for our oil and gas sector.
This is what Mark Carney is talking about. The financial sectors are making decisions, and they are leaving Canada because they simply don't believe us.
What do you think we need to do to stabilize employment, particularly in western Canada, by starting to make some investments in the new clean technologies, as opposed to continuing with this ongoing, ongoing, ongoing claim that we're going to increase oil production and somehow save the planet?
Assistant Professor, University of Calgary, As an Individual
That's a big question.
As far as opportunities to invest in clean technologies are concerned, as Professor Jaccard mentioned, a big part of the future energy system will be electric and electrification. There are substantial opportunities for the growth of wind and solar in the western and prairie provinces. One thing that would help to unlock that further would be the build-out of transmission lines between provinces. That could be done to enable Canada to develop more of its renewable energy resources.
NDP
Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON
To close on that, I believe that to get to a secure environmental future, Alberta and Saskatchewan are essential because of their expertise.
How do we start to shift this conversation to ask what infrastructure we need in order to make investments in all the other opportunities we have in western Canada?
Assistant Professor, University of Calgary, As an Individual
I'm not sure if that was the question, or—
Assistant Professor, University of Calgary, As an Individual
One of the biggest infrastructure pieces are the transmission lines. It's to make the electricity lines that connect those provinces to their neighbouring provinces and to the U.S. much larger.
We've already seen significant private-sector investment in Alberta in the build-out of wind and solar in just the past two years because of the opportunity there. Building up that infrastructure will enable much more of that to happen.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal John Aldag
All right.
I'm looking now to the committee and the witnesses. We had booked one hour for this panel. We started at four o'clock with the panellists, so we've had the one full hour. There's been lots of really good testimony.
I've checked with our clerk and was reminded that the motion was to have eight two-hour meetings on this particular study. We can either adjourn at this point and go into our subcommittee business, or, if it's the will of the committee and if the witnesses are available, we can continue for a bit. That would be subject to the witnesses being available and the desire of the panel to continue.
Mr. Angus.
NDP
Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON
I would prefer to get to subcommittee business because I'm concerned about going too much further without hearing from the net-zero advisory panel.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal John Aldag
Would everybody be good with ending at this point?
Just before we gavel out, go ahead Ms. Rempel Garner.
Conservative
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
I just want to say thank you to all the witnesses for appearing today despite the glitch at the front end and for answering our questions so thoroughly. You can probably expect to have follow-up from all of us.
Thank you.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal John Aldag
We do have other business to get to, but I, too, would like to thank each of the witnesses for their time today and the insight they brought at our very first meeting on a very important topic.
I apologize that we didn't get right to you at 3:30, but at committee it's important to make sure we're working through all of our procedural issues. Thank you for your patience today. As you heard, if there is a desire or if you are able to follow along when the net-zero panel is able to get to us and if you have additional thoughts, you can reach out to Hilary, our clerk. We can get back to you and see if you'd like to be added back to another panel or perhaps send a supplementary brief of up to 10 pages to respond to whatever we hear from that panel.
Thank you, everybody.
I have one quick item that has come up. As many of you know, Mr. Morrice has been joining our panel. He made a request to the clerk to have access to materials that have come before the committee, such as submissions and the Library of Parliament briefings. This requires unanimous consent from the committee to agree to that because we're not allowed to share it if the party doesn't have official status within the House.
I'm just putting it out there. We could talk about it at the subcommittee, but it still needs to come back to this committee. I'd like to throw it out there now, if we're willing to deal that. It would require unanimous consent to share those materials.
Ms. Rempel Garner.
Conservative
Liberal
The Chair Liberal John Aldag
Okay. We can move that over there, and it will have to be brought back.
With that, ladies and gentlemen, we will adjourn. Once I gavel out, I'll ask the subcommittee members, if you're on Zoom, to log out. There's a new link for the in camera subcommittee meeting, so get back in as quickly as you can.
Thank you, everyone, and have a great day.
The committee is adjourned.