Canada's 2009 Budget: A Disappointment for Renewables

Posted on January 28, 2009 by Shauna Towriss

Call the Conservative’s Economic Action Plan blue, red, yellow or purple, but whatever you do, do not call it green…

When releasing the federal budget yesterday afternoon, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty summarized his government’s action plan as follows:

“With this stimulus plan, Canada will emerge from this recession with a more modern and greener infrastructure, a more skilled labour force, lower taxes and a more competitive economy.”

While the Budget does contain something in the neighbourhood of $3-billion in spending to address the environment, it didn’t do nearly enough to lay the groundwork for a new green economy.

The Budget includes a $1-billion fund aimed at developing clean technologies over the next five years and another program worth $1-billion to help pay for environmentally sustainable infrastructure.

Other “green-ish” highlights of the Budget include $300-million to expand an existing home retrofit program that gives grants for improvements to energy efficiency and $10-million to better monitor water and air quality and greenhouse gas emissions.  Also, apparently the $292-million to help develop the CANDU nuclear reactor and operate the Chalk River facility (which, incidentally, just experienced a leak in early December) is a green initiative...??

With all the exciting new and emerging clean and renewable energy sources and businesses in Canada (many of which we’ve written about here on Megawatt), it’s disappointing that the Conservatives focussed narrowly on nuclear energy and carbon sequestration and didn’t seize this chance to set Canada up to be a leader in the green and renewable energy sector. The government has clearly drawn a line in the (oil)sands and shown Canadians, and the world, where its priorities do and don’t lie.

CanWEA weighed in yesterday, saying that it was disappointed with the Budget and stating that the lack of expansion of the government’s ecoENERGY for Renewable Power Program means that incentives for wind and other renewable energy will run out before the end of the next fiscal year and that new projects will suffer a loss of financial support as a result. Programs like ecoENERGY create opportunities and jobs for green-energy developers and spur on our economy.   The government’s decision not to allocate funds in Budget 2009 to the ecoENERGY program is discouraging, especially since Obama just renewed a similar U.S. program for three years. 

Unfortunately, this was one of the best opportunities we’ve had yet to set Canada up with the foundation for a vibrant, green economy that would be good news for citizens, the environment and business and the government didn't do as much as it could have or as much as the green and renewable industries had hoped. However, over time and as Canadians demand more, hopefully the government will make greener decisions in the future.
Tags: , , ,

WWSHD? - What will Stephen Harper Do?

Posted on January 16, 2009 by Shauna Towriss

Stephen Harper’s Conservative government will be introducing the earliest budget ever on January 27, 2009. Aside from the obvious political reasons for the budget being introduced at this time, there is no question that the need for fiscal stimulus is becoming stronger every day. The government has been consulting with various groups and stakeholders as well as the provinces in anticipation of tabling the budget in 11 days.

One of the main things to remember is that the current crisis facing the world is double barrelled and involves both the economy and the environment.  However, addressing these crises does not require mutually exclusive solutions. The feds should concentrate on putting money into ensuring that a post-financial crisis Canadian economy is a green economy. I can’t say it any better than Peter Robinson, CEO of the David Suziki Foundation in a piece published today in the Toronto Star:

With a few bold moves, a green stimulus package could turn Canada into a global renewable energy powerhouse. We're talking tens of thousands of new jobs in things like turbine manufacturing, home retrofits, solar panel installation, wind farm construction and transit-line building. These are skilled, made-in-Canada jobs that feed families, build wealth and help communities grow and prosper.

This point is exactly right, and Peter Robinson isn’t the only one to have made it recently. In a pre-budget submission to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, the Canadian Solar Industries Association (“CanSIA”) appealed to the Finance Minister to make “a more aggressive commitment to the deployment of renewable energy” and to “establish the renewable energy sector as a pillar of the nation’s new economic stimulus strategy”. In particular, CanSIA mentioned that the U.S. is expected to experience a solar boom as a result of the “supportive policies and programs that are currently in place or being developed" by Barack Obama and the incoming White House Administration and urged Minister Flaherty to act now to take advantage of favourable forecasts by RBC Capital Markets and Merril Lynch regarding the future of the clean technology and renewable energy fields. 

CanSIA proposed that in the 2009 Federal Budget, the Federal Government do the following as part of the renewable energy and economic stimulus strategy:

  • Create an electrical grid infrastructure upgrade program. CanSIA proposed that the federal government establish a program to partner with the provinces in funding such upgrades.
  • Make a clear commitment to renewable energy through establishment of renewable energy targets as well as streamlined federal procurement processes.

Now is the time for the federal government to show leadership and foresight. The silver lining in the economic crisis is a very real opportunity to establish Canada as a leader and renewable energy powerhouse. Leading by example and being innovative and progressive are all things that Canada is good at and that Canadians are proud to be known for, let’s hope Stephen Harper’s government seizes this opportunity to make Canada’s new economy a green economy.
Tags: , , , ,