Canada’s economy away from the capricious actions of the United States that will likely remain beyond the next President, but more importantly, what is missing is Carney’s leadership as an international business environmentalist, and that is shocking. The woeful absence of any environmental action to reduce the economic cost of floods, hurricanes, drought, wildfires, and other severe weather events that can throw any budget out of whack on a whim is simply irresponsible. These were the things I was expecting from Carney’s first budget if it were truly a generational investment as it was touted to be:
1. Protect our infrastructures from severe weather events
- Canada’s geography means our long transportation, communication, water, energy and other important infrastructures are particularly vulnerable to being damaged or destroyed by severe weather events.
- Emergency repairs are costly, and unbudgeted. Replacing damaged infrastructures are very costly and can take years, but often the replacements are an updated version of the same old design from the 20th century when most of the infrastructures were built, thereby extending the same vulnerabilities. Think of the Gardener Expressway in Toronto.
- What is needed in this generational transformative budget is evidence that the government is adopting a new culture that conserves energy and supports the adoption of new technologies, many of which already exist, so that our economy and infrastructures are more resilient to a plethora of change. Resilient technologies and decentralized infrastructures are easier to manage in uncertain times. To facilitate the transition, it’s important to have choices, and use price signals to guide those choices.
- Renewable energies are ideal because they are cheaper and faster to install and maintain, and are decentralized. They are also a hub for new technologies.
- New pipelines for oil and methane gas do not count. They would be foolish government expenditures based on the recent purchase and completion of the TransMountain pipeline that cost seven times more than the original estimate—and Alberta didn’t even appreciate Prime Minister Trudeau’s gift!
- Investing in more pipelines also contradicts the warning Prime Minister Carney’s gave in 2015 when he was the Governor of the Bank of England that oil, gas, and coal would likely be expensive stranded assets if the world were to tackle the climate crisis.
- The federal government can no longer afford to subsidize the oil and gas sectors that have been going on for almost a century, nor can the government afford to hold expensive stranded assets. It’s time to invest in energies with a smaller environmental footprint.
2. Create a robust circular economy
- According to the most recent data, the Conference Board of Canada stated in 2013 that Canada ranked near the bottom at 15th out of 17 developed nations using environmental-efficiency metrics, only being better than the US and Australia. We produced twice as much waste per citizen as the first ranked country, Japan, and we were also very wasteful with our natural resources.
- The Conference Board concluded that “Canada must promote economic growth without further degrading the environment. Encouraging more sustainable consumption is crucial to achieve that objective.” What the Conference Board stated in 2013 still applies today, and maybe more so since there is a lot more catching up to do.
- Canada has been slow at developing the circular economy, and a more sustainable consumption, but becoming experts in this field would create lots of opportunities and jobs here at home, and around the world as well.
3. More support for small business owners
- Small business owners with under 100 employees generate 98% of the Canadian economy. They need to be supported in generating new opportunities within Canada, and outside of the US. They are the ones that make Canada’s economy resilient, and it costs the federal government a lot less money to support small businesses than the billions of dollars doled out to the small number of large companies that have already received too much, for too long, and with a questionable return.
- This is the time to encourage and support Canadian entrepreneurs that can lead the way in Canada’s economic transformation.
- Prime Minister Carney should have been bold in leading Canada in a new economic direction for the 21st century. There are many who would follow.
Sharolyn Mathieu Vettese
President SMV Energy Solutions www.smvholdings.com
SMV Energy Solutions provides simple smart solutions that conserve energy