Environment Canada officials grilled on Canada's climate targets at committee hearing

Environment and Climate Change Canada officials struggled Monday to explain how recent federal policy shifts have affected national emissions reduction targets, as federal ministers in recent weeks have refused to commit to Canada's 2030 goals.

The federal government has recently rolled back several climate initiatives, including delaying the implementation of the electric vehicle sales mandate by one year and ending a loan program to help Canadians pay for green retrofits to their homes.

Prime Minister Mark Carney also eliminated the consumer carbon price on his first day in office, leading to questions about his government's priorities when it comes to fighting climate change.

Canada has committed to reducing emissions to 40 to 45 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030, but a recent report from the Canadian Climate Institute suggested the target is now out of reach. 

Another report last year from Environment Commissioner Jerry DeMarco warned Canada would miss the 2030 target and said there was still 20 to 30 years’ worth of emissions reduction work ahead before it could catch up.

A group of assistant deputy ministers appeared before the House of Commons standing committee on environment and sustainable development Monday morning to brief MPs.

Bloc Québécois MP Patrick Bonin asked them repeatedly about the impact on Canada's 2030 emission targets from the repeal of the consumer carbon price and the decision to pause implementation of the electric vehicle mandate for 2026.

Department officials initially cited other measures in place and repeated Prime Minister Mark Carney's talking points, but eventually shared some data when pressed further.

Megan Nichols, one of five officials answering questions, said scrapping the consumer carbon price would add three megatonnes of emissions in 2030, while the impact of suspending the EV mandate for 2026 had not yet been calculated.

"Given that, the government has also announced its intent to review that regulation in more detail to make sure that industry will continue to be able to achieve the goals, and also that prices are affordable," Nichols said.

The electric vehicle mandate would have required automakers to have 20 per cent of all new car, SUV and light-duty truck sales be zero-emission. The mandate, as written, would still be enacted in 2027 at a threshold of 23 per cent, rising steadily to 100 per cent by 2025.

But when the government paused its implementation, it also launched a 60-day review of the mandate, which is being led by Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Bonin pressed further in another round of questions, but the officials couldn't say how those recent policy changes, in combination, have impacted Canada's work to reach its 2030 target.

"We're just in the middle of revising the projections with the most recent information to be able to respond directly to that question," said Alison McDermott, the assistant deputy minister of strategic policy.

McDermott said they would have the revised projections before the end of year, which — by law — is when the government must present a progress report with an assessment on the 2030 target.

Speaking to The Canadian Press, Bonin said he believes the government already ran those numbers ahead of making its recent policy decisions, but is too embarrassed to share it.

"It's clear to me that the government has all that information and it's walking back (climate policies) in many instances, while it wasn't even on track to meet its 2030 emission reduction targets," Bonin said in French.

"They're too embarrassed to show the true face of this government and the policies it's dismantling in the fight against climate change."

While MPs grilled Environment Canada officials, another climate fight was happening a floor above in the House of Commons on Monday.

During an opposition day, the Conservative Party presented a motion calling for the government to eliminate its emissions cap on oil and gas producers.

Last year, Ottawa introduced draft regulations — two years behind schedule — requiring producers to cut emissions by about one-third over the next eight years.

The Liberals have said repeatedly they aren’t capping production, just the emissions that come from it — a bid to force companies to invest in technology to produce the fuels more cleanly. But industry leaders and Conservative politicians insist the targets are too stringent and can’t be met without capping production.

"We're giving Liberals an opportunity to vote here and now," Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said during a speech on the motion.

"If they vote to keep their production cap in place, it'll be a signal that all of the flirtations that the Prime Minister has done with the possibility of producing more or building pipelines, were nothing but an illusion. A tragic and extremely costly illusion."

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson