44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 29, 2023 11:00AM
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to speak to this Senate bill.
First, I would just like to point out that the Conservative member who spoke earlier talked about how much the Conservatives support the bill. Of course, they could really show that support by ensuring that it receives speedy passage to move on to the next stage, instead of prolonging debate on the matter.
Canada's built environment is a significant contributor to GHG emissions, with more than 25% of GHGs coming from the construction, use and maintenance of residential, commercial and institutional buildings. The embodied carbon is the GHG emission arising from the manufacturing, transportation, installation, maintenance and disposal of building materials from building construction. It is responsible for 10% of all energy-related emissions.
In 2019, the World Green Building Council called for a 40% reduction in embodied carbon by 2030. To ensure that Canada meets its GHG reduction commitments, both energy use and carbon emissions need to be reduced simultaneously. This bill puts into law that, for most federal construction, GHG reduction must be a part of the planning process. It is the smart thing to do, and it is the right thing to do. Currently, this is only an internal federal policy.
Wood is one of the best materials for reducing the carbon footprint in buildings. The low embodied carbon of wood products stems from the fact that the manufacturing process is not energy-intensive, because it relies predominantly on electricity and uses long-lasting forest products that have sequestered carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Great advances have been made in tall wood construction. It is now possible to build more buildings in a safe, ecologically sensitive way than in past construction. These new technologies offer an obvious opportunity to increase the use of wood in building and thus support the forest sector in Canada, which has been beset by difficulties caused by American tariffs through the softwood lumber dispute, the pine beetle epidemic in British Columbia, catastrophic forest fires and reduced fibre supply because of past harvests.
As the largest producer in Canada, the federal government could give this sector a much-needed boost by using this cutting-edge technology at home. If passed, this bill would require the Department of Public Works to consider any potential reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and any other environmental benefits when developing requirements for the construction, maintenance and repair of federal buildings.
In 2009, B.C. passed the Wood First Act, which aims to “facilitate a culture of wood by requiring the use of wood as the primary building material in all new provincially funded buildings”. In 2013, Quebec adopted the Wood Charter, which requires all builders working on projects financed in whole or in part by the provincial government to consider wood in their construction plans; it also requires project managers to prove that they have calculated the greenhouse gas emissions of wood versus other materials in the pre-project stage.
Different versions of this private member's bill were introduced in past Parliaments, and they were supported by the NDP. Early versions of the bill explicitly asked the minister to consider using wood. However, that text was amended in the 42nd Parliament to direct the minister to consider any reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and any other environmental benefits instead; it may also allow the use of wood or any other thing, including a material, product or sustainable resource that achieves such benefits.
That bill, Bill C-354 passed in the House but died in the Senate at the end of that Parliament. It was introduced as a Senate bill in this Parliament. This version of the private member's bill is inspired by new developments in wood construction technology. Large buildings constructed with mass timber can be built quickly. They are also cost-competitive, and they meet fire safety requirements.
Advances in wood construction technology have demonstrated that large buildings and other infrastructures can be built with wood. Recently, the University of British Columbia constructed the Brock Commons student residence; it is the world's tallest wood building, at 18 storeys. Toronto's George Brown College is currently building Limberlost Place, a 10-storey mass timber structure, at its Waterfront Campus; this will be the first institutional building of its kind in Ontario.
In 2014, the Cree community of Mistissini, Quebec, opened the Mistissini Bridge, a 160-metre-long bridge with semicontinuous arches made of glue-laminated wood beams. It is one of the largest wooden structures in Canada, and it won two national awards at the 2016 Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards.
Canadian companies lead the mass timber sector in North America, with production plants in B.C., Ontario and Quebec. Because wood has lower embodied carbon than most building materials do, this bill offers us the opportunity to support innovation in the forestry sector while, at the same time, helping the Government of Canada to meet its GHG emission reduction targets. This is especially the case in these difficult times, because the sector faces large duties from the U.S.
Given the developments in the technology, this idea is one that is being used more and more around the world. It makes sense to use this technology more at home. In budget 2017, the government provided Natural Resources Canada with $39.8 million over four years, starting in 2018-19, to support projects and activities that increase the use of wood as a greener substitute material in infrastructure projects.
Bringing this forward is our way to call on the government to continue to support this activity through government procurement. It is time for us to move forward. This bill has been around and through the block a number of times. I repeat, as I stated at the beginning of my speech, that if the Conservatives say they support moving forward with this bill, then they should show it with actions and stop the delaying tactics. Let us get on with it, get it done, support the industry and do what is good for the environment. That is the path forward.
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- May/29/23 1:00:53 p.m.
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- Re: Bill S-5
Mr. Speaker, the carbon tax is an absolute failure. I have a two-part question.
Could the member address how the carbon tax is an absolute failure and how it has failed to reduce emissions?
We, as Conservatives, have significant concerns regarding the amendments passed in the Senate. There are 24 different amendments, 11 of which make the bill significantly worse.
After five years of consultation, how can this be drawn out further? Can he speak directly to the Liberal flip-flop causing the bill to collapse?
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- May/29/23 2:48:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we agree that we need to make sure that life is affordable. We have implemented a lot of measures to ensure that things will be affordable in the future.
However, it is also important that we reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We need a plan to fight climate change, which we and almost all of the other parties in the House have. The Conservatives are the only ones who do not have a plan to fight climate change. They want to leave our children and grandchildren with a poor future.
We need a plan to—
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- May/29/23 5:20:12 p.m.
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- Re: Bill S-5
Mr. Speaker, the question was about carbon pricing, which is not directly related to CEPA, but I am happy to talk about it.
I would point out that in the great province of my colleague opposite who asked the question, there is no federal backstop program because there is a provincial government that prices carbon, and always has. If I am not mistaken, that was an action by the previous Liberal government in British Columbia. I know there are some members on the Conservative side who sat in that government at the time. Perhaps he knows one of the members opposite who sat in that Liberal government. I know the Liberals in B.C. might have more in common sometimes with some of the members of the Conservative Party here.
Carbon pricing works. That is a truth. That is something the Conservatives universally felt, just a little over a year ago, when they all ran on a promise to implement a carbon price in Canada, but they have had an about-face. The new leader of the Conservative Party, the member for Carleton, does not believe in carbon pricing. At a recent Conservative convention, there was a question as to whether or not climate change exists and it was a pretty tight vote. I do not recall exactly what the breakdown was, but it seems that most Conservative members are still on the fence as to whether or not climate change exists.
However, what is irrefutable is that carbon pricing works. I am grateful for the leadership of British Columbia and the aforementioned Liberal government there that instituted that and proved, decades ago, that carbon pricing is effective at reducing our emissions.
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- May/29/23 7:17:37 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I would like to refresh the Conservative leader's memory because, in the last campaign, his party promised to “improve the Clean Fuel Regulations to reduce carbon emissions from every litre of gasoline (and other liquid fuels) we burn”. Was that something the Conservative leader supported when he was knocking on doors and saying that that was his plan?
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- May/29/23 7:52:01 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, our government absolutely understands the importance of climate action and investing in a green economy. That is what we have done.
With the budget, we now have a $120‑billion plan to create a clean economy. Today, we are seeing that we have really started to attract investments. We are also seeing that emissions are coming down. Our plan is working.
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- May/29/23 8:54:38 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I have another question.
Quebec is a leader in fighting climate change and producing clean energy. Quebec's per capita CO2 emissions are 50% lower than the Canadian average. In fact, Quebec is the province with the lowest emissions per capita in all of North America. We are very proud of that.
One of the main reasons for Quebec's success is our abundant hydroelectric power, which covers almost all of Quebec's electricity needs. In order to maintain that position, we need to continue to invest in the production of clean energy. After the budget was tabled and our clean investment tax credit was introduced, the Quebec finance minister said that this was an extremely worthwhile measure for us in Quebec.
Can the Minister of Finance tell us how this tax credit will support Quebec's efforts to build the economy of the future and combat climate change?
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- May/29/23 9:27:10 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, our government, since 2015, has concentrated many efforts on fighting climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which are both important, while growing the economy. Yes, the environment and the economy go hand in hand, and we know Canada is blessed with the human capital and natural resources for the companies and workers to be champions in the economies of today and tomorrow as we transition to new technologies.
Our government has put in place a number of measures that not only respond to the Inflation Reduction Act, but also lead the act, because we know the IRA was in response to the environment, and we as Canadians and our government are already there putting in place measures to help this transition and lower greenhouse gases.
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- May/29/23 9:45:15 p.m.
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Madam Chair, she said she would improve the clean fuel regulations to reduce carbon emissions from every litre of gasoline and other liquid fuels—
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- May/29/23 10:07:39 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the credits will be used to make investments to create a clean economy and reduce existing greenhouse gas emissions—
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- May/29/23 10:09:25 p.m.
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Madam Chair, indeed, we do not agree on carbon capture and storage. This technology has a poor record. For example, the Shell Quest facility produced more greenhouse gas emissions than it captured with its technology.
Around the world, of the 149 projects to be storing carbon by 2020, 100 were cancelled or placed on indefinite hold. Even in the United States, most government incentives were withdrawn.
I would like to know if the minister can tell us what is the secret. Why would this technology magically work in Canada when it does not work anywhere else?
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