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Results: 16 - 30 of 192
Mark P. Mills
View Mark P. Mills Profile
Mark P. Mills
2021-05-13 12:50
Well, let's clarify. [Technical difficulty--Editor] hedge funds with private equity, which is a different category of private money. Hedge funds have a notorious role because they hedge investments, so to speak.
For most innovation, obviously there's a role for government. This is a very old debate, and a very important one, especially in modern times. [Technical difficulty--Editor] last 80 years since World War II, we've talked about how governments can play a role. However, the essential answer is because of the nature of risk in doing something different than everybody else is doing today, if you want to reward the innovator, you have to give them the latitude to do it, which means they have to find money. It's always still the money.
The risk-taking is taxed. Let's just use a specific example. If you tax risk-takers the way you tax non-risk-takers, you get fewer risk-takers. It seems unfair to reward the risk-taker for the outsized gain in lower taxes, but what you don't see is behind the scenes, for every successful company, there are hundreds that fail. As we all know, it's an old truism, but it's a true truism. Therefore, simplistically, if you want more of it, tax less of it.
View Gabriel Ste-Marie Profile
BQ (QC)
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Minister, as you know, the greater Montreal area and other parts of Quebec are home to thousands of tech start-ups. At the beginning of the pandemic, they told us that the wage subsidy program was inadequate in terms of coverage. A start-up is, by definition, a business where someone puts up their own money while working towards a technological development, which, once ready, they can sell and reap the benefits of. The government turned to the innovation assistance program, administered by the National Research Council of Canada.
Now, some start-ups are asking why the program was not extended until September 25, like other income support programs. As we know, the innovation assistance program provides more than $250 million in funding, largely to start-ups. Some have even warned that, if the program ends, they could go bankrupt by the end of the pandemic.
Why end the innovation assistance program when we are this close to the goal line?
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Thank you for your question.
I must say, I certainly recognize how important Montreal's innovation ecosystem is. Toronto, where I'm from, has a similar ecosystem. Mr. Julian is here, and Vancouver, in his riding, has an ecosystem as well. The same is true of many other Canadian cities and municipalities.
Start-ups are a very important part of our growth plan. Canadian innovators will find quite a few measures in the budget that are meant to help them, especially small and medium-sized businesses wanting to make growth-oriented investments.
The budget truly focuses on growth and the future, with numerous programs that will be particularly helpful to these types of businesses. If you like, I can put together a list and send it to you.
Jean-François Samray
View Jean-François Samray Profile
Jean-François Samray
2021-05-11 11:31
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen members of the committee.
Thank you for inviting me to contribute to your discussion on the green economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
My name is Jean-François Samray, and I am president and chief executive officer of the Quebec Forest Industry Council, which brings together sawmill, veneer, pulp, paper, cardboard and panel companies in Quebec, as well as engineered wood manufacturers.
Today, I want to stress not only the importance of the forest industry's role in our communities' economic recovery, but also the fact that it will be just as much of a key player in the fight against greenhouse gases, or GHGs. Various levels of government will be responsible for creating the context to enable the forest industry to participate fully in those two issues and to support its efforts in innovation, so that it can help reach our objectives.
The Quebec forest industry, which generates over 142,000 jobs, is the economic engine of some 900 municipalities. Nearly 70% of Quebec's municipalities are connected to that industry. The average annual income in the forest industry is $66,500. That sector contributes $41.5 billion to the province's economy and $17.7 billion to the gross domestic product.
Just recently, a study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers showed us that, in 2019 dollars, and not at the cost of wood today, $150 is collected in taxes per cubic metre of processed wood. Of that amount, $50 is going to federal coffers. So investing in the forest sector is a win–win–win initiative. It is a win for the economy, for communities and for the environment.
A number of international studies emphasize the importance of an active and responsible forest industry. Among them are studies carried out by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, or FAO, and the International Energy Agency, or IEA. Added to those studies is the Natural Resources Canada annual report titled “The State of Canada's Forests”, which demonstrates that triple role.
So it goes without saying that we are happy the federal government is investing $3 billion over the coming years, so that two billion trees can be planted in the near future. However, a portion of those trees must be harvested eventually to enable sustainable forestry, which could make the most of the various iterations of that carbon neutral product. When a tree is cut down and sawn into planks, it sequesters its carbon longer than its counterparts left to themselves in the forest. In other words, when wood is used as a building material, its CO2 retention period is extended. It is a better alternative to other building materials, such as steel and concrete, which consume up to 34% more energy and emit 81% more GHGs.
Our industry is not short on challenges. The softwood lumber sector is booming, and the demand comes from the United States, Canada and from around the world.
However, the United States Department of Commerce imposes countervailing duties on softwood lumber imports from Canada. But the World Trade Organization, or WTO, concluded in its final report that Quebec is complying with international trade rules. We are counting on the Canadian government to use the WTO's conclusions and require an exemption from countervailing duties on products from public forests, an exclusion for businesses that mostly get their supply on the American side, and an integral refund of the money already collected.
When it comes to innovation, the panel sector and the pulp and paper sector are undergoing a complete transformation and are innovating constantly. Concerning panels, a great deal of research is going into the production of new green adhesives to meet consumer demand. The pulp and paper sector is no exception. A number of innovations have been announced over the past few months, including by FPInnovations, which uses cellulose in the manufacturing of products to fight against COVID-19.
So government support in research and development and in innovation is crucial, especially for FPInnovations, but also for the academic sector and for businesses, to help the industry make a shift and remain a leader in the new green economy.
We also think that using biomass in the heating sector must be done by adding depth to the stream, and not by cannibalizing existing businesses that are making value-added products.
In conclusion, we feel that the government must invest much more in the Investments in Forestry Industry Transformation program, the IFIT, because $55 million, the amount allocated over two years, is clearly insufficient.
Thank you.
View Warren Steinley Profile
CPC (SK)
That would make sense, because one of the comments you made was that sometimes you couldn't differentiate between natural gas going into a house and a grain dryer or a barn, and there is an instance where a natural gas line doesn't have its own meter that goes to a barn or a grain dryer, because many farms have different farmyards for their grain dryers and their house.
I was very surprised by that comment, because that just doesn't happen anymore. You can always tell what natural gas is going to be used for heating a home and heating a barn, drying grain or running an irrigation pump, so that was a bit surprising to me.
Mr. Parry, you've said many times that innovation is driven by carbon pricing or a price on carbon in agriculture. Do you believe that statement?
View Warren Steinley Profile
CPC (SK)
Okay, thanks. That's perfect.
I'd ask: Can you tell me the tax that was forced on farmers that led to the innovation of zero tillage?
Matt Parry
View Matt Parry Profile
Matt Parry
2021-05-04 16:23
A tax on farmers that led to zero tillage.... I don't believe there was a tax in that area.
View Warren Steinley Profile
CPC (SK)
Yes. That was an amazing innovation that led to great soil conservation and the ability of farmers to have better soil quality and more nutrients in the soil.
Mr. Parry, can you tell me the innovation that led to crop rotation for grazing for ranchers across Canada, and what tax led to that innovation?
Matt Parry
View Matt Parry Profile
Matt Parry
2021-05-04 16:23
It was done through official management practices and the sharing of information among farmers. I don't believe there was a tax involved in that, so—
View Warren Steinley Profile
CPC (SK)
I agree with you 100%. I think innovation and conversations through farmers and sharing data have led to amazing innovation in the agriculture sector. I put on the record that saying—and having very senior people in the Department of Agriculture say—that innovation is brought forward in agriculture by carbon pricing is something I think many people I represent and many people I know would have a difficult time believing is the only way to get to innovation.
I think that's what this bill is about, when you talk about it. You can't get innovation. I know we talked about how there might be innovative and new technologies for grain drying. There might be, but that's five to 10 years off. The reason, Mr. Parry, you couldn't mention one is because there isn't an innovation right now that can dry 50,000 bushel bins, other than natural gas or propane. We're a long ways off of that.
This bill Mr. Lawrence is proposing is that exemption to give farmers a chance to continue to do what they do well, because there are farmers in Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba who pay tens of thousands of dollars on a carbon tax because of using grain dryers and irrigation pumps.
Mr. King, you talked about irrigation. My farm still has delivery. They have a propane tank, and that propane tank is delivered by a truck into the yard, and that tank runs a motor that pumps irrigation through the pipes. It's not just a pipeline. There are still cases where propane gets delivered for on-farm use. I think Mr. Lehoux would have many people who have propane delivered to heat barns in his riding of Beauce.
Those are just a couple of things I wanted to point out. Farming is an agribusiness in Saskatchewan and western Canada, and they're very big operations. These grain dryers are solid equipment, industrial equipment, that gets used to keep people fed, not only across Canada but around the world. I believe these farmers need this exemption to make sure they can continue to provide that good service.
My final question would be: When it comes to crop rotation—and I know you guys know this very well—it is one of the great innovations in agriculture that led to keeping nutrients in the soil. Once again, I'd ask Mr. Parry: Was there a tax brought forward that induced crop rotation practices by farmers across Canada?
Matt Parry
View Matt Parry Profile
Matt Parry
2021-05-04 16:26
I think you likely know the answer. There was no tax in that regard, but I would note that I don't think I ever said that carbon pollution pricing was the only tool, just that, in a number of circumstances, it can be efficient and effective in providing a price signal to promote innovation and the development of new technologies.
View Warren Steinley Profile
CPC (SK)
I appreciate that statement very much, and I know farmers are as innovative as they can be, because they know that their bottom line is very important. I know they do whatever they can to innovate, not only for the environment but for the bottom line and to ensure that their operation is successful now and for the next generation of farmers in Canada.
Thank you both very much for your time.
View Dave Epp Profile
CPC (ON)
Thank you, Mr. Lawrence.
Mr. Parry, I believe you said in your testimony that agricultural greenhouse gas emissions have been stable since 2005. What does that tell you about the rising production from agriculture since then? With rising greenhouse gas emissions from virtually every other segment of our society, what does that tell you about the innovation and environmental stewardship of the agricultural community?
Matt Parry
View Matt Parry Profile
Matt Parry
2021-05-04 16:41
It states that the sector has made significant progress in reducing the emissions intensity of production and in producing agricultural products more sustainably, with a lower greenhouse gas emissions content. It speaks to the innovative capacity and performance of the agricultural sector in Canada.
Results: 16 - 30 of 192 | Page: 2 of 13

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