May 23rd, 2006 – Transcript
of a Scrum with the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister
of Environment Canada and the Honourable Clay
Serby, Saskatchewan minister of Regional, Economic
and Cooperative Developers and deputy Premier
at the Launch of a Canadian Renewable Fuel Strategy
Rona Ambrose: Thank you very
much and welcome. I am very pleased to be here
today with my provincial and territorial colleagues
to establish a biofuel strategy. This is a very
important national strategy for the environment.
It is a very important strategy for the Canadian
economy. We are very happy to be here today. On
behalf of the federal government to launch the
process to implement a 5% biofuel strategy for
Canada. I'm very pleased to be here to have the
political will from our provincial colleagues
and from our territorial colleagues to move forward
with a plan that we know Canadians want to see
happen and our government wants to see work.
Clay Serby: Well, thank you
very much. I want to say on behalf of Saskatchewan
and for sure my colleagues who are here from across
the country how pleased we are to have in our
province the three federal ministers led by minister
Ambrose. Clearly the renewable fuel strategy for
not only Saskatchewan but Canada is an outstanding
process. We know that over the next number of
months, the ministers have put together, the federal
ministers have put together a timetable which
we think is very ambitious. It is important I
think for us to recognize the leadership that
is going to be provided at the national level
to bring together a standard for us across Canada.
We are extremely pleased of
course that we launched this discussion and this
meeting in our province, given that we have a
mandate already in Saskatchewan, that we are meeting
many of our obligations that are in place today
for a national fuel standard and to have it in
our backyard here in Saskatchewan and to have
our colleagues from across the country here is
just an honor for us to be moving forward on.
Rona Ambrose: Thank you, thank
you Clay. It is no accident that we chose Saskatchewan
and asked Saskatchewan to co-chair this meeting
with us and co-host this meeting with us because
Saskatchewan has been a leader on biofuels development
and Canada, the government of Canada. This is
our first step in honoring our commitment that
the prime minister made during the election on
moving to a 5% biofuel content in Canada. This
is a very ambitious timetable that we have set
out, but we know it is reachable. It is achievable
and we are making clear commitments in showing
clear action today to reach that target by 2010.
I think it is important that
people recognize this is a historic meeting. This
is the first time in Canadian history that the
ministers responsible for renewable fuels have
assembled at the federal / provincial level. It
is important because of what it has done is bring
together different components that are necessary
to make this a success. We have the ministers
of environment, agriculture and energy all around
the table. It is key for this strategy to succeed,
that we see it from three different lenses, that
it not reduces emissions from an environmental
perspective, but that there be a strong agricultural
component to make sure the producers participate
in this growing economic opportunity and of course,
for industry to be able to participate as well.
So we are pleased to be here
with all of these different perspectives at the
table. We had a very successful meeting in moving
forward and this is an ambitious agenda, but we
know that we can do it together.
Question: (Inaudible) the 5%
biofuel content by 2010, is that essentially a
percentage coming out of the meeting?
Rona Ambrose: Yes, I would suggest
that we have a successful will to move forward.
I will say that provinces like Saskatchewan would
like to see a higher – a higher target and we
applaud them for wanting to reach even a higher
target because of the good work that they have
done in their own province, but from a national
framework perspective, it is important that we
recognize there are some regions of the country
that don't have the same capacity at this point
to reach the 5%. So 5% is ambitious. Our U.S.
counterparts will be at a 4% renewable fuel content
by 2012 and the European Union will be at a 5.75%
renewable content by 2010.
So 5% is ambitious, it is not
very far away, but we know it is reachable, it
is achievable and we will make sure that when
we put forward our framework, that all areas,
all regions of Canada have an opportunity to participate.
Question: What do you have to
say to the critics who suggest that this is more
of an industry policy and not really environmental
and (inaudible)?
Rona Ambrose: Sure, I would
be happy to. There is a reason why the prime minister
has asked the department of environment to lead
these discussions. We talked about this during
our meeting. If it was just looked at from an
environment perspective or just looked at from
an agricultural perspective or only looked at
from an industry perspective, you would see three
different frameworks emerging. We have got all
of these key players to the table to ensure that
as we move forward with industry incentives, an
industrial framework, the producers have buy-ins
and have opportunity to participate and then we
are looking at leveraging the best possible technology
for emission reduction.
If you look at green-based –
green-based ethanol compared to cellulose-based
ethanol, you are looking at almost double the
amount of emission reduction. So as we move forward
with our targets, as we move forward with R&D,
we need to encourage the kind of technology that
will see greater emission reductions.
Question: So environmentally
speaking then, the Conservative government's position
is that ethanol is the best way to proceed rather
than reduction of (Inaudible) and that kind of
thing?
Rona Ambrose: There is a number
of different things we have done in terms of looking
at this from an overall policy framework. You
have seen we have made great – a huge investment
in public transportation and that is going to
be in cleaner, public transportation. We have
made investments in transit passes to make sure
people get out of their cars and huge that public
transportation. For those people that need to
drive cars, we want to make sure they are burning
cleaner gasoline so that they reduce emissions.
For the buses that we are going to invest in,
we want to make sure that they are using biodiesel
and ethanol.
So as we move forward, and Canada
has a great capacity in terms of the technology
development we have right here in our backyard.
We have been behind our international counterparts
and it is time that all of us take this challenge
on and move Canada in the right direction so that
we can participate on the world stage, not only
competing economically, but competing environmentally.
Question: What sort of incentives
actually are being envisaged to get to the 5%
target by 2010? What sort of – are you talking
about tax incentives, excise tax, those sorts
of things?
Rona Ambrose: That is exactly
the kind of incentives we are looking at and I
will let you talk to Mr. Lunn a little bit more
about some of the discussions that the Council
of energy ministers has done over the last number
of years and the work that they are going to do
moving forward on this, but yes, that is the kind
of things we are looking at.
Question: Are you concerned
about the fact that there could – if the industry,
the domestic industry is not gearing up to provide
the ethanol or biodiesel or whatever it is that
you are aiming to constitute for this target,
that you could get a flood of American corn-based
ethanol coming into this country. What are you
going to do to prevent that from happening?
Rona Ambrose: That is – that
is a clear issue that emerged from the meeting,
as one of the challenges that we want to work
on together, moving forward. One of the clear
commitments that our government has made on this
issue is that there will be producer involvement.
That is one of the clear parameters that we have
set out. There is an issue that was raised during
the meeting about the competing with U.S. subsidies.
I can assure you that Canada is looking at opportunities
for incentives, for our own industry, but I think
the other thing to recognize is in the U.S. right
now, they don't even have enough supply for the
ethanol that they are looking for. So there are
also opportunities for the Canadian producers
to take advantage of exporting as well.
Question: (Inaudible)
Rona Ambrose: Yes, I have spoken
to Saskatchewan about that and I applaud, I applaud
Saskatchewan for their ambitious, ambitious goals
and we look forward to working with the Prairie
provinces but again, this is – it has to be a
framework that works for all regions. This is
a great opportunity for economic development for
all of Canada.
Question: So you are not...
Rona Ambrose: And as I said,
we have areas in Canada that have increased capacity
and that have come a long way compared to other
areas of the country and this is a challenge that
we face together. All of us as ministers have
clearly stated a desire to work towards a national
goal and to look at regions of the country that
need support to institute a national framework.
Question: So what is the answer
to the question? What is your commitment to 50%
and more Western Canadian grain?
Rona Ambrose: We are committed to implementing
a 5% biofuel content, a national strategy for
Canada by 2010.
Question: Yes, I'm aware of
that, but what is your commitment to (Inaudible)?
Question: Okay, you talked about
producer involvement. I gather it obviously is
encouraging discussion, but what sorts of things
would you envision or ownership structures or
incentives to encourage producer involvement?
I know it is something that has been pushed by
Saskatchewan.
Rona Ambrose: Yes, there is
– well, I can assure you that the agricultural
minister at the federal level and those agricultural
ministers that are involved at the provincial
level in this discussion have made that point
very clear and there is a commitment not only
from our prime minister, but from all of the departments
at the table and all of the ministers at the table,
that there has to be producer involvement. That
is one of the parameters moving forward in terms
of how projects will be assessed, how the framework
will be functioning and we talked about new generation
cooperatives, other ways to provide incentives
for producers to participate and providing incentives
for industry to work with, to work with producers
to maximize their opportunity to participate in
what is a new economy that is emerging.
Question: Apart from your commitment
for the 5% target, what did you actually accomplish
here today?
Rona Ambrose: Well, as I said,
this is a historic meeting. This is the first
meeting of ministers responsible for renewable
fuels. We have looked at a number of different
parameters. We have accomplished a lot by being
here today, to show a clear commitment from the
agricultural sector, from the environment sector
and from energy, but the framework that emerges
and the framework that we are working together
will have really clear parameters. We have outlined
those three parameters. The federal government
has given very clear indication of where – the
parameters we would like to work within with the
ministers involved in this as we move forward
and we will be coming back with concrete decisions
in November when we reconvene over the summer.
As Mr. Serby has talked about,
this is a very ambitious agenda and because there
is a number of consultative bodies that are going
to be looking at this framework from the energy
side and industry side, from the agriculture side
and also from the environment side, we are all
bringing our perspectives through the process
throughout the summer and then with clear decisions
for the national standards and framework in November.
Question: Can you talk about
(Inaudible)
Clay Serby: I think - can I
just - I would like a chance at this too because
I think what is important here is that there are
four departments and four ministries, both provincially
and federally that are needing to come together
here to build the renewable fuel strategy for
Canada. This is the first occasion where we have
now the three ministers in the room, national
ministers along with provincial ministers from
across the land. What we decided today is the
framework on which we are going to proceed with
our consultations because in each area, there
will - there will be all sorts of issues of which
there will be expectation and demand, be it from
the energy side, from the environment side, from
the agricultural piece. Clearly we needed to know
who is going to be leading the process and we
are now sure. Minister Ambrose and her department
will be leading the process.
Collectively, we have now set a timetable of which
there will be extensive consultations across Canada,
of which there will be involvement in each of
the provinces by each of the department and the
ministries are involved. There will be federal
/ provincial meetings of each of the departments
over the next three months or four months. Then
coming together as a renewable energy ministers
back in November or in November, then to set the
framework or the template about going forward;
in that template will be all the issues that were
talked about today, about the mandate. It will
be about the ownership, it will be about the feedstock,
it will be about the research and development
that will be required for Canada and it will be
about the financial incentive package that needs
to be put into place at the federal level in order
for renewable fuel to be competitive with all
of those nations which we will be competing with.
So that is what this meeting was about today.
Question: Sorry, I didn't hear
the commitment that you said was the most important
one for you, which was to get 50% of more of western
Canadian feedstock (inaudible) in ethanol?
Clay Serby: Well, I think that
is a fair question and our discussions are not
over, Stephanie. Our discussions are just beginning.
This is the very first day of a process of which
we have an agreement on today. I hear the federal
government saying very clearly again today that
they are committed to the 5% mandate. I expect
that I would not be speaking out of turn by saying
that there are other provinces besides Saskatchewan
that will be of the view that there needs to be
some generosity added to the 5% and so that debate
will continue forward. We know that we can meet
a 5% mandate for Canada. We don't have much concern
about that in our province, but there is - I think
it would be fair to say there is some interpretation
about whether or not we should be setting a target
that we might not be able to achieve in the timeframe
that is in place. I have less concern about that
and you can rest assured that there will be additional
conversations going forward with our federal ministers
about what we think the mandate should actually
ramp up to by the time we get to 2010.
Question: Madame Ambrose...
Rona Ambrose: Oui.
Question: ...une question en
français s'il vous plaît. Est-ce
que vous pouvez me dire comment vous comptez (inaudible)?
Rona Ambrose: The question was
how are we going to ensure that the industry producers...
Question: (Inaudible)
Rona Ambrose: If you don't mind,
a lot of the technical words are new to me, so
I'm going to - I will answer your question in
English. You are asking about how we will ensure
that industry participates in the 5%. We have
no concerns from my colleague Gary - minister
Lunn's consultations with industry that they are
ready to participate in this. I know that in Alberta
in particular, we have the highest percentage
of renewable energy across Canada and there has
been no push back in terms of developing that
kind of energy and that of course is in the backyard
of large oil industry.
So I think we have a great deal
of not only public support for this, we have a
great deal of political will as you see here today
and you have a commitment from our prime minister
who wants to see action and result on this file
and which is why we started this process three
months ago immediately of bringing this group
together for the first time in Canada, to talk
about the opportunities for industry, environment
and agriculture to work together on a national
framework, to make sure that we ensure that as
we move forward with implementing our 5% target
by 2010, that there is producer involvement, that
there is environmental, direct environmental benefits
in terms of reducing emissions and that industry
can also participate. Thank you.
