Evidence of meeting #84 for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was ports.
A video is available from Parliament.
9:10 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Peter Schiefke
Thank you very much, Mr. Barsalou-Duval.
Thank you, Mr. Kennedy.
Clearing the bases for us this evening is Mr. Bachrach.
Mr. Bachrach, the floor is yours. You have two and a half minutes, please.
9:10 p.m.
NDP
Taylor Bachrach NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you again to our witnesses for staying so late and engaging with us on this topic.
I have a question for Mr. Wilson.
You spoke about decarbonization at ports, and I think everyone that we've spoken to has recognized the huge opportunity there. You also mentioned that many of those things are already under way in one form or another.
Bill C-33 empowers the minister to require that ports produce five-year climate plans, and that's in line with what the government is requiring of other sectors. I know they've proposed it for airports as well.
My observation is that a lot of corporate climate plans are PR exercises. They are a summary of things that are going on that can be roughly construed as falling into that climate action category, but they often lack accountability measures. They lack firm targets the kind of detail that allows the government or the public to hold the entity accountable. I'm not talking about ports in this regard; I'm just talking in general. Our experience over the last couple of decades with climate planning has been, I would say, fairly lacklustre in the corporate sector.
If this is to be a useful exercise, how should the government and this committee consider building accountability into ports' climate plans so that it's not just a summary of things that the port plans to do, but a road map to get to the kinds of emission reductions that we need to see?
9:15 p.m.
Vice-President, Environment and External Affairs, Vancouver Fraser Port Authority
If the climate plan were specifically about the port authority on its own and didn't include the broader port community, that would be achievable. I would say that it's not achievable in respect of the broader port, because the port authority doesn't control or have the ability to be able to compel the kind of participation that would be required from industry. We rely on collaboration with industry, which we do, but collaboration sometimes doesn't get us to the place we need to be.
9:15 p.m.
NDP
Taylor Bachrach NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
So, possibly, splitting that question into two pieces, there can be more accountability if it deals with the activities of the port authority specifically, and it's more difficult to pin down the broader port community, because they're operating outside of the direct control of the port authority.
Is that what you're saying?
9:15 p.m.
Vice-President, Environment and External Affairs, Vancouver Fraser Port Authority
Yes. This is a continuous improvement process. The inputs that we need to be able to decarbonize the port.... It's not that the terminals aren't doing the right thing; they are doing the right thing, but we need a supply of alternative energy. We need Vancouver to become an energy hub for things like hydrogen, ethanol and other things that will allow us to decarbonize more broadly. We need greater electrification. There are plenty of things that we need that will support that. It's not as though anyone, industry or the ports, are pushing back on it. We embrace that, but we just need the platform.
9:15 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Peter Schiefke
Thank you very much, Mr. Wilson.
Thank you, Mr. Bachrach.
On behalf of all committee members, I would like to thank all the witnesses who joined us either in person or virtually for their time this evening, for lending us their testimony to this very important piece of legislation and for doing so at such a late hour on this Wednesday.
I will now suspend the meeting, and we will go into committee business in camera for approximately 10 minutes.
Thanks to everyone. I ask all of the witnesses to now log off.
[Proceedings continue in camera]