Environment and Sustainable Development

The committee met to discuss the climate competitiveness strategy and industrial carbon pricing. Minister Julie Dabrusin and Associate Deputy Minister John Moffet appeared. The minister described industrial carbon pricing as a tool to reduce emissions while keeping costs low for trade-exposed industries, noting that revenues do not go to federal coffers but are reinvested in provinces. She highlighted a memorandum of understanding with Alberta to strengthen industrial carbon pricing and said the government would initiate public discussions on refining the pricing benchmark to provide long-term certainty for industry.

Conservative members questioned the scale of the carbon pricing system and its impact on competitiveness, particularly compared to the United States, China, and Russia. The minister disagreed that it makes industry less competitive, citing examples like Algoma Steel and Redpath Sugar, and argued that global markets increasingly demand low-carbon products. Liberal members asked about reinvestment of revenues and misinformation, with the minister stating that industrial carbon pricing does not affect food costs. The Bloc Québécois pressed for details on the $130-per-tonne credit price in the Alberta MOU, including whether it is a floor or ceiling and its effective date, but the minister said those details are still under negotiation.

The committee did not make any decisions or pass any motions during the meeting. The minister committed to continuing work on methane regulations and clean electricity regulations, but no specific outcomes were resolved.