Finance committee  I would answer that question by saying that we don't have a level playing field in Canada when it comes to energy investments. That's because the federal government continues to offer tax preferences to oil and gas and natural gas that are not available to the rest of the energy

Finance committee  We spend about $100,000 a year. It's a very small budget.

Finance committee  No. We did not do that this year on purpose. We wanted to present options for the new government to deliver the mandate letter, so we did not tally the total funding ask.

Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  Our coalition is strictly for making a submission to the federal budget. I should say, however, that we work all year long. We have a series of consultations in the fall with senior government officials, where we show our preliminary recommendations. We want to make sure they're

Finance committee  With regard to your question that green energy costs money, traditional fossil fuel energy costs money, but the taxpayers and the public foot the bill. I'm an economist by training, and we talk about market externalities. We pay for our carbon emissions through the impacts of cli

Finance committee  Yes, exactly.

Finance committee  I would point to the experience in British Columbia. As you know, they have a carbon price that is currently at $30 per tonne of CO2. It's been in place since 2008. Some really strong economic data that was published this year on energy policy looked at the effects of the B.C. ca

Finance committee  You are right about the electrical grid. There is no doubt there needs to be some investment in modernizing the Canadian electrical grid. This is an area of shared jurisdiction. Our specific recommendation is to give funding to Natural Resources Canada to lead the development of

Finance committee  Thank you, honourable Chair. Committee members, thank you for inviting the Green Budget Coalition to present before you today. You should have before you our comprehensive recommendations for budget 2016. The Green Budget Coalition represents 16 national environmental organizati