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House Hansard - 330

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 12, 2024 02:00PM
Context: House Hansard - 330 - Jun/12/24
Mr. Marc Serré (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and to the Minister of Official Languages, Lib.)
  • Jun/12/24 6:17:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands for her years of advocacy on these issues. I want to be clear: Our government has no intention to delay or weaken the clean electricity regulations. On the contrary, these are regulations of national significance. Yes, there are challenges with provinces across the country, but we understand the importance of getting it right so that the regulations can pass the test of time moving forward. Canada will need more clean electricity to achieve a net-zero economy. Our population is growing. More and more Canadians are plugging in electric vehicles and using electrified public transit. More and more homeowners are switching to electric heat pumps. Companies are looking for ways to decarbonize their warehouses, offices and factories. A transition to a clean electricity grid will only be successful if provinces and utilities across the country can deliver significant emission reductions while continuing to provide Canadian industries, businesses and households with reliable and affordable electricity. For that, the regulations must be flexible. That is why we conducted extensive consultation following the publication of the draft clean electricity regulations last summer. We reached out to provincial and territorial governments and to indigenous representation. We engaged with the Canada Electricity Advisory Council, utilities, industry, environmental organizations and all interested Canadians. We have heard the concerns and criticisms from the electricity sector and from governments. We have heard about the challenges and the need for flexibility that some provinces have to face when generating electricity relies heavily on fossil fuels. We have made improvements to ensure that provincial operators have greater flexibility. We came to the table with more than $40 billion in federal support to help provinces and territories on their path to a cleaner grid. Right now, Environment and Climate Change Canada is analyzing the feedback we received on the proposed changes. Stakeholders had until March 15 of this year to submit their comments. Continued collaboration is crucial. As for all regulations, we will continue to engage, to understand any remaining concerns before publishing the final regulations before the end of the year. I know the hon. member has provided some feedback, and we will continue to push our government to do more. We are working to make sure that the clean energy regulations make sense so that they deliver significant emission reductions, reliability and affordability over the long term.
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