Environment and Sustainable Development

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development met to study the government's climate policy and the effectiveness of the Net-Zero Advisory Body (NZAB), hearing from Catherine Abreu, Executive Director of the International Climate Politics Hub, and Dr. Simon Donner, a professor at the University of British Columbia, who both resigned from the NZAB.

Catherine Abreu testified that she resigned from the NZAB because the government has shredded environmental policies, including scrapping the consumer carbon price, weakening clean electricity regulations, eliminating the oil and gas emissions cap, and delaying zero-emissions vehicle mandates, all without seeking the NZAB's expert advice. She argued that these decisions, particularly the Ottawa-Alberta MOU which weakens methane regulations and industrial carbon pricing, put net-zero by 2050 out of reach and violate the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act. She recommended that the government keep existing environmental protections, such as those in Bill C-30, and make a transparent plan for Canadians, noting that Canada is the only G7 country where emissions have risen since 1990 and that the U.S. is projected to outperform Canada on emissions reductions.

Dr. Simon Donner testified that he resigned as co-chair of the NZAB because the process became performative, with the government not informing the body of policy decisions, not seeking its advice, and cancelling a briefing on the Canada-Alberta MOU. He highlighted structural challenges, including the NZAB serving only the environment minister despite its cross-government relevance, a lack of alignment with government timelines, and an arduous appointment process that left the body understaffed. He stated that Canada is not on pace to meet its 2030 or 2035 targets, and that the Canada-Alberta deal is incompatible with net-zero by 2050, urging the government to be honest with Canadians about the implications of its decisions.

During questioning, both witnesses agreed that Canada is falling behind in the global clean energy transition and that the government's "prosperity agenda" ignores the economic costs of climate impacts and the potential of electrification. Dr. Donner noted that the NZAB's advice on industrial pricing and building retrofits, such as heat pump incentives and better building codes, was ignored by the government. Abreu added that the government has not consulted the NZAB on the climate competitiveness strategy and that Canada risks winning the Fossil of the Day Award again at COP31.

The meeting concluded with a procedural debate after Liberal MP Bruce Fanjoy moved a motion to study home energy and adaptation retrofits, which Conservative MP Branden Leslie criticized as an attempt to muzzle witnesses and waste time. The motion was debated, with some members arguing it was inappropriate to introduce it during witness testimony, and the committee eventually voted to adjourn debate on the motion.