PACP Committee Report

The Conservative Party of Canada’s Dissenting Report: Hydrogen’s Potential to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emission

Conservative members of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (PACP) demand action be taken due to the incompetence of Government Ministers when it comes to building a hydrogen industry in Canada.

Conservative members of the Committee recommend:

Recommendations:

Recommendation #1: The government needs to immediately axe the carbon tax for farmers, First Nations, and families. Conservatives believe that we should protect our environment and reduce emissions using non-fictional technology, unlike the non-existent technology stated by the Environment Commissioner that is currently being used by this government.

Recommendation #2: We call for the appearance, without delay, of the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and the Minister of Environment and Climate Change before the Public Accounts Committee to account for their unmitigated failure to develop a viable strategy for hydrogen and for their department’s failure to model correctly.

Recommendation #3: Natural Resources Canada and Environment Canada must immediately establish a standard framework to estimate emission impacts of proposed policies, clean technologies, and fuels. There should be zero discrepancies between departments.

Recommendation #4: The Government of Canada must mandate Environment and Climate Change Canada and Natural Resources Canada to provide accurate costs to Canadian taxpayers on how much the government's carbon-neutral by 2050 plan will truly cost.

Recommendation #5: The Government of Canada must urgently prioritize a real long-term plan for 2050 net zero based upon on existing technology, not the non-existent technology that the Environment Commissioner noted the Government of Canada is using.

Background:

The Auditor General's report, titled "Hydrogen's Potential to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions," highlights a frightening lack of accountability and fabrication between Natural Resources Canada and Environment Climate Change Canada regarding their outright dishonesty with green hydrogen in Canada. This report underscores the failure of both departments, as well as the entire Government of Canada to develop concrete and factual policies on the effective utilization of hydrogen in the country and the long-term financial implications for taxpayers.

We are particularly concerned that Natural Resources Canada and Environment Climate Change Canada “used unrealistic assumptions for modelling”[1] greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. In addition, The Environment Commissioner of Canada warned that the Government of Canada “is not fully transparent because it includes assumptions that are not clear and relies on some polices that are not announced or in effect.”[2] The report also highlighted that departmental official’s policy makers did not use the hydrogen strategy to inform policy decisions. Conservatives believe the lack of transparency, unrealistic, and fictional modeling from Natural Recourses Canada and Environment Climate Change Canada makes the credibility of the Government of Canada’s hydrogen policy, and frankly, their entire climate policy compromised, and non-existent.

Conservatives submitted Order Paper Question 1993, requesting the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources to provide a response outlining the financial plan for the government's net-zero by 2050 carbon policy proposal [3]. The Order Paper Question from the minister concluded that the government of Canada does not have a clear cost projection for there net-zero by 2050 climate proposal[4]. The Government of Canada's failure to have a stated cost projection for a 25-year plan is not only irresponsible and downright deceptive, particularly when taxpayer money is being used to incentives these projects.

Conservatives Submitted Order Paper Question 1988 which demanded the Minister of Environment to inform Parliament on how emissions are directly reduced from the carbon tax. The minister responded to the Order Paper Question by saying the Government of Canada doesn’t measure the relationship between emissions and carbon pricing.5 During a cost-of-living crisis - which can be attributed to the carbon tax - the minister's glaring confession that the government doesn't measure the relationship between emissions and carbon pricing proves Liberal hypocrisy. It is in reality a tax plan.

The Government of Canada must prioritize the implementation of clear cost projections and cost analyses for its initiatives. It is unacceptable for departments to use fictional policies and non-existent technology. Canadians and their tax dollars deserve better.