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How a Senator from South Carolina has delayed climate change policy in Canada
How a US pout affects Canada
Over the weekend, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) announced that he would no longer participate in negotiations on the current energy bill. Being the only Republican Senator working on this legislation, along with John Kerry (D-MA) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), Senator Graham’s departure means the bill will face a much tougher fight to move through the Senate. Democrats were scrambling to save the bill on Monday, because without bipartisan support (i.e. one Republican Senator), another battle similar to the health care reform is expected.
So why did he change his mind?
His stated reason, concern over rumblings that the Senate was also going to try and tackle immigration reform before midterm elections in the Fall.
“Moving forward on immigration — in this hurried, panicked manner — is nothing more than a cynical political ploy,” Mr. Graham said. “I know from my own personal experience the tremendous amounts of time, energy and effort that must be devoted to this issue to make even limited progress.”
Senator Graham was already under fire from his conservative base for supporting this initiative, so a certain straw and camel analogy comes to mind. That said, this could be part of a strategy to retain support from his base, by being seen as tough negotiator and demanding certain changes to conciliate him.
So why does this impact us Canadians?
Our federal government has stated unequivocally that their primary strategy regarding climate change legislation is to await US legislation and copy it. So any delays to their process will directly impact our own “policy on climate change.” Opinion polls have shown the Canadian electorate supports this position, preferring to have a unified North American initiative. That said, our government doesn’t provide the same level of support to cleantech companies that those in the US receive today, so worse still we’re following policies on the tough issues and not showing leadership on supporting or transitioning to a carbon-based economy.
“There has been a massive shift around the world. And that’s the tragedy because Canada had the opportunity to be the lead and now it’s catch-up time.”
- David Demers, CEO, Westport“There is very little legislation, regulation or public policy that promotes cleantech at the (Canadian) federal level, although there are a number of tools being considered. They include cap and trade or carbon tax systems, Renewable Portfolio Standards, Investment Tax Credits, Feed in Tariffs and a focused fiscal stimulus. Such frameworks are starting to come together in the U.S., which will provide mainstream investors with a better investment landscape and drive cleantech’s transition from a niche investment class in the venture capital world to an increasingly attractive investment class for mainstream capital. Canada should at least be moving in parallel.”
- Bob Gomes, President and CEO, Stantec
Though coupling our system to the current US legislative process is a very politically safe move (taking no risk whatsoever), it nearly guarantees we’ll be trying to catch-up instead of leading on this most important issue and that this won’t be the last delay for meaningful change on the Federal level in Canada.
This is an opportunity for Canada to be a leader in the coming carbon-based economy, instead of investing in the status-quo (i.e. tar sands, automotive). As our own Tom Rand has shown, the technology exists today, we’ve just got to get the politics right.
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Kevin Downing @ MaRS
Kevin currently manages initial client engagements with the MaRS Venture Group. He also administers a federal fund that provides mentorship to start-up companies across Ontario.
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