OTTAWA — The co-founder of Ottawa’s independent net-zero advisory body, Catherine Abreu, expressed her disappointment with Prime Minister Mark Carney's current commitment to climate action during a recent parliamentary committee meeting on the environment. Abreu, along with fellow co-founder Simon Donner, attended the session to discuss their resignations from the federal government's net-zero advisory body, which occurred in December.
Abreu and Donner stepped down after accusing Carney's government of failing to seek the group's advice on critical policy decisions, such as the Alberta energy deal and the major projects bill. Abreu stated that many individuals within the climate sector had "much higher expectations" for Carney and were hopeful he would effectively harness Canada's clean growth opportunities.
“Seeing his commitment to climate in other arenas, and having read his book, I think many of us are experiencing that disappointment,” Abreu remarked during the committee hearing. She also highlighted a broader concern that discussions about prioritizing Canada's future opportunities were lacking, irrespective of the climate change issues at hand.
In recent months, Carney has faced criticism for backsliding on Canada’s climate initiatives. He has repealed the consumer carbon price, made the industrial carbon price more lenient, and expanded fossil fuel subsidies. These changes have been praised by the industry as essential for enhancing Canada’s competitiveness in attracting global investment, with proponents arguing that further deregulation is necessary.
However, these actions have resulted in significant backlash, leading to the resignation of former cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault, who opposed the direction of government climate policies. Last month, Guilbeault announced his intention to resign as an MP, citing the government's stance on climate issues as a primary reason for his departure.
During the committee meeting, Abreu stressed that Canada is not leveraging its unique opportunities to develop clean energy, which could position the country as a leader in a world increasingly moving away from fossil fuels. “We have an incredible abundance of clean energy in this country that we are not taking advantage of,” she asserted, emphasizing the need for a managed phase-out of fossil fuels while investing more in clean energy resources.
Abreu and Donner were invited to the committee to explain their reasons for resigning from the net-zero advisory body, which was established in 2021 as part of Canada’s Net-Zero Accountability Act. This legislation mandates that the environment minister takes the advisory body’s advice into account when setting emissions targets or revising Canada’s emissions reduction plan.
Donner reiterated that the advisory body’s role began to feel “performative” under Carney’s administration, expressing concern that the government was not adequately considering their advice in policy-making processes. He recounted that, despite the advisory body conducting research on industrial pricing and equivalency agreements, they received little feedback from the Prime Minister’s Office, apart from a brief acknowledgment from Energy Minister Tim Hodgson’s office.
“I was comfortable chairing an advisory body whose advice was considered but ultimately rejected by the government because, after all, we’re not elected representatives like the rest of you,” Donner explained to the MPs. “I was not, however, comfortable with the process becoming performative, in which we had little or no opportunity for our work to actually inform policy.”
Among the MPs questioning Donner and Abreu were Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and NDP MP Gord Johns. As the Greens and NDP do not have party status, they typically depend on other parties to provide them with time during committee sessions. On this occasion, the Conservative Party offered their time to May and Johns, allowing them to engage with the witnesses.
The invitation for Donner and Abreu to testify has been contentious, with accusations of obstruction from the Liberal Party during the initial requests for their appearance. During the committee meeting, Liberal MP Bruce Fanjoy faced accusations from Conservative MP Branden Leslie, who claimed Fanjoy was trying to derail the witnesses' testimonies by raising a motion to study home energy retrofits. Leslie expressed his discontent, stating, “I can’t believe how gutless this is.”
Ultimately, Fanjoy defended his motion, claiming it was relevant to Canada’s climate goals. However, the session concluded with more time being spent on criticisms of the Liberal MP's motion than on the actual testimony from Abreu and Donner, highlighting the ongoing tensions within the committee regarding climate policy and government accountability.
