At a meeting with Ontario’s Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks, David Piccini, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) President and CEO Dennis Darby, put forward proposals to keep Ontario competitive following the adoption of the $400 billion Inflation Reduction Act by US Congress.
Darby thanked the Ontario government for implementing CME recommendations when developing its Made-in Ontario environmental plan, and making Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) eligible under the Emissions Performance Standards (EPS), which replaced the federally delivered Output-Based Pricing System at the beginning of 2022.
CME delivered new recommendations on the EPS program as part of a regulatory consultation that closed yesterday. “Manufacturers should be able to draw from compliance payments made under the EPS to invest directly in their own technology and capital stock and reduce their GHG emissions, as opposed to diverting the proceeds to government general revenue,” shared Darby.
“With the first wave of EPS compliance payments going out in the second half of 2023, it is urgent for the government of Ontario to announce its approach for the use of proceeds to provide certainty for businesses, avoid adverse effects on investment and the associated leakage of carbon emissions to other jurisdictions.”
As part of CME’s Net Zero Industrial Strategy published earlier this year, manufacturers also recommend that Ontario:
- Develop an effective and targeted SME net zero transition strategy, with a specific focus on education and global supply chain competitiveness;
- Support the creation, commercialization, and manufacturing of low- and no-carbon products in Canada through tax incentives and government procurement; and
- Significantly expand the availability of clean and cost-effective energy, including by investing in nuclear, renewable and hydro-electric capacity, as well as increasing intraprovincial transmission.
“Ontario has seen a good string of investment in electric vehicle supply chain lately, but we cannot afford to remain complacent while the US government dedicates enormous resources to building its manufacturing sector for the net zero transition, in absence of any carbon pricing of its own,” concluded Darby.
