Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault has denied any responsibility for the $8 billion dollar green slush fund for federal climate subsidizing to manufacturers. Further, the Department of Industry has refused the Commons Environment Committee’s order to disclose terms of billions in federal climate funding to subsidize manufacturers, says Blacklock’s Reporter.Guilbeault told the committee Tuesday it is the Department of Innovation that is responsible for the Net Zero Accelerator policy that give billions to green manufacturers. Documents disclosed at committee however confirm it is the Department of Environment that in fact co-chairs the advisory board on Net Zero Accelerator applications.Deputy Minister Simon Kennedy meanwhile refused to give any details on the policy. He argued it is “highly sensitive confidential information to be safeguarded.”“Departments have always acted to protect confidential business information obtained during the negotiation of contribution agreements,” Kennedy wrote in a letter to the committee. “Protecting confidential business information is important.”On May 7, the committee unanimously voted to compel disclosure of contracts under the Net Zero Accelerator, dubbed the billion dollar green slush fund. The $8 billion subsidy program described in one audit as costly and ineffectual. Kennedy on Tuesday refused to comply.“Can you believe this?” asked Conservative MP Dan Mazier, who sponsored the disclosure motion. He called the program “free cash for Canada’s largest emitters” on terms concealed from taxpayers.Mazier’s motion sought data “to measure the Net Zero Accelerator’s progress and results, all internal Net Zero Accelerator targets set by the government including the government’s Net Zero Accelerator emission reduction target and all complete contribution agreements signed to date for the Net Zero Accelerator.”Kennedy in reply said terms must be concealed to protect corporations that received subsidies. “Disclosure of sensitive business information without prior consent of the third party including commitments found in contribution agreements would put the government in violation of its contractual obligations,” he wrote..The Net Zero Accelerator was launched in 2021 to subsidize factory refits. Environment Commissioner Jerry DeMarco in an April 30 report said costs of subsidies were exorbitant, ranging as high as $523 per ton of emission reduction. Several companies that successfully applied for subsidies provided no emission targets whatsoever, said the report.“The Department of Industry did not track the Net Zero Accelerator’s overall value for money in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This is concerning as the funds are almost all committed.”DeMarco called the program a failure. “I would say the primary failure is for them to closely track the amount of emissions they are getting for each dollar they are spending,” he said.The $8 billion subsidy represented “a very large outlay of taxpayer dollars for what I would say are relatively limited results. It’s simple enough to dole out money but you need to do it in a way that creates value for money for taxpayers because ultimately it is taxpayers who are paying.”
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault has denied any responsibility for the $8 billion dollar green slush fund for federal climate subsidizing to manufacturers. Further, the Department of Industry has refused the Commons Environment Committee’s order to disclose terms of billions in federal climate funding to subsidize manufacturers, says Blacklock’s Reporter.Guilbeault told the committee Tuesday it is the Department of Innovation that is responsible for the Net Zero Accelerator policy that give billions to green manufacturers. Documents disclosed at committee however confirm it is the Department of Environment that in fact co-chairs the advisory board on Net Zero Accelerator applications.Deputy Minister Simon Kennedy meanwhile refused to give any details on the policy. He argued it is “highly sensitive confidential information to be safeguarded.”“Departments have always acted to protect confidential business information obtained during the negotiation of contribution agreements,” Kennedy wrote in a letter to the committee. “Protecting confidential business information is important.”On May 7, the committee unanimously voted to compel disclosure of contracts under the Net Zero Accelerator, dubbed the billion dollar green slush fund. The $8 billion subsidy program described in one audit as costly and ineffectual. Kennedy on Tuesday refused to comply.“Can you believe this?” asked Conservative MP Dan Mazier, who sponsored the disclosure motion. He called the program “free cash for Canada’s largest emitters” on terms concealed from taxpayers.Mazier’s motion sought data “to measure the Net Zero Accelerator’s progress and results, all internal Net Zero Accelerator targets set by the government including the government’s Net Zero Accelerator emission reduction target and all complete contribution agreements signed to date for the Net Zero Accelerator.”Kennedy in reply said terms must be concealed to protect corporations that received subsidies. “Disclosure of sensitive business information without prior consent of the third party including commitments found in contribution agreements would put the government in violation of its contractual obligations,” he wrote..The Net Zero Accelerator was launched in 2021 to subsidize factory refits. Environment Commissioner Jerry DeMarco in an April 30 report said costs of subsidies were exorbitant, ranging as high as $523 per ton of emission reduction. Several companies that successfully applied for subsidies provided no emission targets whatsoever, said the report.“The Department of Industry did not track the Net Zero Accelerator’s overall value for money in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This is concerning as the funds are almost all committed.”DeMarco called the program a failure. “I would say the primary failure is for them to closely track the amount of emissions they are getting for each dollar they are spending,” he said.The $8 billion subsidy represented “a very large outlay of taxpayer dollars for what I would say are relatively limited results. It’s simple enough to dole out money but you need to do it in a way that creates value for money for taxpayers because ultimately it is taxpayers who are paying.”
