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Results: 1 - 15 of 140
View Sébastien Lemire Profile
BQ (QC)
Speaking of removing barriers, do you think that there may be a development opportunity for regional machine repair companies wanting to promote and expand their market?
I'm thinking in particular of all the Apple devices, in Abitibi—Témiscamingue, that we were forced to return to the company.
Do you think that this could create opportunities in the regions?
View Brian Masse Profile
NDP (ON)
View Brian Masse Profile
2021-06-22 11:49
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Go ahead and answer that question, Mr. May. I really don't have any more questions. I'll give you an opportunity to finish the last one. It was a good question by my colleague.
View Bryan May Profile
Lib. (ON)
View Bryan May Profile
2021-06-22 11:49
Thank you.
You brought up Apple. This is probably one of the biggest targets with things like this. You can't replace even a screen on something like this. Even if the part is available and the person has the know-how, you don't have the ability to do that.
They're very pernicious in how they've set up some of these systems, not just the TPMs but the requirements for things like passwords and tools that will unlock a device in order for the repair to even be done.
I'll give you an example. PlayStation has two major components to it. It has the disk drive and it has the motherboard. If the disk drive were to fail for some reason and you were able to take a disk drive from another PlayStation that maybe has another problem with it, or you're able to find the part online somewhere and you have the know-how to replace that part in the PlayStation, the motherboard will not recognize the perfectly fine disk drive because the serial numbers will not match up.
That has nothing to do with copyright. These are the types of things that manufacturers have done using copyright legislation as a shield. Even if you have the know-how and the parts, you still cannot get that device to function because of the way they have set up that device to not allow it to work.
View Bryan May Profile
Lib. (ON)
View Bryan May Profile
2021-06-22 11:51
It's one of those things where I think people across Canada, when they're starting to learn about right to repair, they're thinking about their own examples. They're thinking that they had to do this or they had to do that. It was a pain in the butt, and it cost them a fortune to have a guy come out to do something they could have done themselves.
I think this is getting that broad appeal because everybody has an example like that.
View Terry Sheehan Profile
Lib. (ON)
Therefore, thank you very much for your private member's bill.
Just for clarity, when this came to Parliament, the Liberals supported Bill C-216, because this is very important to the Liberals. I'm sure the member will know who voted and who didn't vote for it, as all of us who have had private members' bills before certainly do. I can't speak for the other parties and who voted for what, but we believe strongly in the supply management system. It's critical to farmers across this great country and Quebec, especially during the pandemic, and we'll always defend it.
I just want to make clear that we've also said that we will not grant any further market access to supply management sectors in future trade negotiations and have committed $1.75 billion in compensation to our dairy farmers. I just want to put that on record.
Farming receipts, including in supply-managed areas, dairy and whatnot, all farming, are up 8.3% during 2020, which I found very amazing during the pandemic. Does the member have any other suggestions as to how we could strengthen the farming sector?
View Louis Plamondon Profile
BQ (QC)
Many programs could be improved at the request of agricultural producers. For supply management, I would say that what people mainly want is stability. They want assurance that if they invest, there won't be another breach that will yet again cost them 3% of their revenue. This is particularly important for those who are trying to build or grow their business. Young farmers are therefore very worried.
It's true that the most recent breaches were very harmful to some farms. It affected not only Quebec, but the rest of Canada too, including Ontario, because there is supply management in every province. The situation was very difficult everywhere. For just about everyone in Quebec and Canada, a 10% decline in revenue has a considerable, and even dramatic, impact. That was certainly true for young farmers. What they want more than anything else is stability.
For the other programs, such as development programs, there were many applications from the world of agriculture that would be achievable in the short or even the very short term. The government does not appear to be listening closely enough. I hope that the coming elections will raise awareness and that these expectations can be met.
It's true that overall, the farming community did reasonably well over the past year. As you said, revenues increased by approximately 8%. Everything is going well, but support for certain types of agricultural production should continue. Producers under supply management are not receiving any grants that would enable them to take action; what they are asking for is protection.
View Terry Sheehan Profile
Lib. (ON)
Again, regarding the regional development agencies, I'm parliamentary secretary for FedNor, and we have DEC. I know we've helped different agricultural sectors, so if there are any ideas that the member has, in particular for small and medium-sized farms with smaller herds, perhaps he could delve into that now or put it in writing later, because that is a big question.
Denis Bolduc
View Denis Bolduc Profile
Denis Bolduc
2021-05-20 16:24
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My name is Denis Bolduc. I'm the general secretary of the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec, or FTQ. I'm joined by Mr. Rondeau, a union advisor for the Environment and Just Transition. I'll be giving the presentation.
I want to acknowledge all the committee members.
The FTQ has 600,000 members spread across all economic sectors and all regions of Quebec. Our members work in some of the most carbon-intensive industries, including cement, steel and mining. A number of them work directly in the energy sector.
I can say without bragging that the FTQ is the union organization in Quebec most committed to the fight against climate change. In 2013, we started a process of reflecting on climate change. We've had a standing committee on the environment in place for several years. We've also taken part in a number of parliamentary proceedings in Quebec City and in several key events on climate change and the just transition. Since 2015, a FTQ delegation has attended the COP meetings. We'll be there again this year, in Scotland, for the COP26.
Canada is committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and is also committed to taking action to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The FTQ is pleased with the federal government's willingness to take serious action to fulfill its commitments. We understand that this is at least the intention behind Bill C-12. However, we doubt that the measures in this bill will achieve the carbon neutrality goals. A change in direction is needed.
The International Energy Agency released a very good report this week. This report shows that we can achieve the goal of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius without compromising the economy—which is important—if governments commit to moving away from new hydrocarbon production projects.
In our opinion, the energy transition and the achievement of the carbon neutrality sought by Bill C-12 systematically require a transformation of our economy, but also of our jobs. The transition must be planned and it must include the people directly affected. We must ensure respect for the economic and social rights of workers, the sustainability and viability of jobs and the sustainability of communities in the transition. Governments must put in place just transition mechanisms in all workplaces involved. Carbon neutrality legislation must be accompanied by just transition mechanisms based on social dialogue. In our view, they go hand in hand.
In terms of provincial jurisdictions, the issues of respect for jurisdiction, engagement and constraints with provinces are often complex. We can easily assume that things will be no different this time around. Canada must address this issue quickly, while respecting provincial jurisdictions. Above all, the implementation mustn't be delayed because of constitutional wrangling. We suggest that you begin discussions with the provinces now.
I'll talk about the advisory committee proposed in the bill. The government must receive decision-making advice from a credible and competent advisory committee that's free of conflict of interest.
In Quebec, the advisory committee on climate change is composed of 12 people, nine of whom are from the scientific community. That's nine out of twelve people, so three-quarters of the committee. This is totally different from the proposal in Bill C-12. The bill proposes that only one person out of 14 would come from the scientific community, while four people would come from fossil fuel companies. We're concerned about this.
We believe that science should guide government decisions, not corporate interests. The current composition of the committee opens the door to conflicts of interest. Solid rules will be needed to guard against this possibility.
With respect to accountability, the bill calls for evaluation milestones every five years. We're wondering about the date of the first milestone. In our view, a first report card in 2030 is much too far in the future.
I will conclude by telling you that what worries the FTQ most is the complete lack of transition planning. We see this as an indication that carbon neutrality will happen without workers and their communities. Without them, it cannot work. We need to include just transition mechanisms in the bill now.
View Dan Albas Profile
CPC (BC)
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to say thank you to all of our witnesses for your testimony and expertise. We certainly appreciate your sharing it with us, and with all Canadians.
I'm going to direct most of my questions toward Dr. Henry from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
Dr. Henry, you seem to be saying a number of things.
We've heard Peter Drucker in various quotations that we're paraphrasing here that, ultimately, what gets measured matters.
When you were talking about how the plans right now only look at the emissions side and not necessarily at the social or the economic impact side, that creates a bit of a blind spot, because not all plans are equal, I would imagine. A plan could lower emissions but seriously hurt the economy. A plan could meet our emissions targets and grow the economy.
Having that balance is an important factor. Would you not agree?
Aaron Henry
View Aaron Henry Profile
Aaron Henry
2021-05-20 16:36
Yes. That would be our position. I think there is definitely consensus that's where we want to go. We want to get to net zero by 2050.
There certainly are better ways to do it, and there are more cost-effective ways to do it. One of our concerns is making sure that those considerations are integrated into the bill.
One thing that's very clear from the IEA's report, and from other accounting firms and others who have weighed in on this, is that while the costs of not transitioning are incredibly high and we need to make that transition, the reality is that the upfront capital needed to make an economic transition is also considerable. We're talking $5 trillion over the period. Some estimates are about $15 trillion in terms of new energy capacity and another $14 trillion in upgrades for grid modernization globally by 2030 alone.
The key component to that, of course, is that you need to be able to develop policy that allows for the investment in all of those projects. In many cases, it's upfront capital that gets realized later. It's sensitive to interest rates. There is a whole series of considerations that need to go into play to actually mobilize that capital.
I think that's what we're looking for, that policy certainty, to make sure the ambition is there but we're actually getting below 60,000 feet, down to the level that allows us to realize how we're going to create the momentum for that. There are going to be some net-zero pathways that are going to leave us positioned to do so, and others that I think won't.
View Dan Albas Profile
CPC (BC)
You mentioned the necessity of having the private sector invest. I think the orders or scale of magnitude that I've heard, for example, in our EV study, are that we would require 7.5 Site C equivalents to be able to electrify our transportation grid.
Would you be in favour of having some sort of assessment of the electric grid in Canada and what steps it can do to manage the increased demand?
Aaron Henry
View Aaron Henry Profile
Aaron Henry
2021-05-20 16:38
I think that kind of study is important. Those are going to be the types of inquiries that I think are going to have to be made throughout the different sectors of this bill.
When we're thinking about decarbonization strategies, that relates to the resource sector; it relates to buildings, to manufacturing. All of those sectors are going to need to have the kinds of reports that ensure we're positioning those sectors to be economically strong to help carry the burden of that transition. It's going to come down to private sector capital to move the needle on these things.
View Ya'ara Saks Profile
Lib. (ON)
View Ya'ara Saks Profile
2021-05-20 16:45
Thank you for your answer. It's very clear that in this entire process we're going through, so many levels are interrelated. We can't look at just one piece of the puzzle. We need to look at all of the pieces.
Dr. Burch, I'm a former small business owner. Businesses try to plan ahead and are often faced with challenges, such as how well do we plan when there are transitions happening on the table? I know how rewarding it can be to have a business and want to grow—and also want to be part of this transition that we're proposing with Bill C-12. As we transition to net zero, how can we support small businesses in the transition and empower them to take advantage of economic opportunities?
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