Parliamentarians call on government to act on climate-aligned finance
Ottawa, May 17, 2023 – Tomorrow, legislators from across Parliament are coming together to raise the urgent need to align Canada’s financial system with climate commitments.
The Honourable Rosa Galvez, Independent Senator for Quebec, and Concordia University’s Sustainability Ecosystem are hosting an expert-led breakfast and panel discussion on Bill S-243, the Climate-Aligned Finance Act (CAFA), and how it will create greater climate resilience across our whole financial system.
This event will be followed by a press conference with Liberal, Green, NDP and Bloc MPs, Senator Galvez and Environmental Defence featuring MP Ryan Turnbull’s Motion (84) urging the government to use all legislative and regulatory tools at its disposal to align Canada’s financial system with the Paris Agreement, which is jointly seconded by a dozen MPs.
Climate change is a clear and present danger, putting Canadian lives and livelihoods at risk. Canadian financial institutions and regulators are taking some steps in the right direction, but the representatives from the Senate and the House are coming together to ensure Canada meets its climate commitments.
"We all know the climate crisis demands urgency and ambition. Momentum around a climate-aligned financial system in Canada has been building and we must take the next steps to create the enabling conditions for capital to flow into the needed investments. Canada must marshal the resources necessary to fill the $120B per year investment gap to finance the transition to net-zero. There is a widespread acknowledgement that we can only meet our climate targets, if we leverage the transformative power of our financial markets, and therefore, we must use every regulatory and legislative tool at our disposal. We need an all of economy approach to win the battle against climate change,” said MP Ryan Turnbull.
“As parliamentarians, we carry a tremendous responsibility for the Canadians we serve. Right now, we’re facing a rapidly closing window of action to tackle the existential threat of climate change. I’m thrilled that there is growing momentum for this action, and we are beginning to shoulder that burden together. MP Turnbull’s motion has expressed the ask, CAFA is the solution. CAFA is the clarion call for the courageous legislation we need to confront climate risk facing Canada's financial institutions. This is what world leading climate finance legislation looks like,” said Senator Galvez.
CAFA was developed with dozens of experts and introduced by Senator Galvez in March 2022. It is endorsed by 120 organizations from coast to coast and 56 leading academics have called for the bill to proceed to committee review in the Senate.
Details of the events
Senator Galvez’s event will feature a panel discussion with Cary Krosinsky, advisor, author, and educator at NYU & Yale; Céline Bak, National Leader on ESG and Impact, Deloitte Canada; Roger Beauchemin, President and CEO, Addenda Capital; moderated by Shawn McCarthy, freelance writer. The panelists will discuss the role of policymakers in climate finance and Canada’s competitiveness in the net-zero transition.
The Honourable Catherine McKenna, former Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada, will provide a keynote address and Amr Addas, Adjunct Professor, Finance & Academic Director of Sustainability Ecosystem, Concordia University, will act as the master of ceremonies.
It will go from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. on May 18th. Email karine.peloffy@sen.parl.gc.ca for interest in attending.
Press Conference
The 9:00 a.m. press conference will be held in person at the press gallery, Room 200, Sir John A. Macdonald Building, 144 Wellington Street, or via Zoom and is for accredited members of the Press Gallery only. Media who are not members of the Press Gallery may contact pressres2@parl.gc.ca for temporary access via zoom. It will also be streamed live on CPAC.ca. The following will be present in person at the press conference: MP Ryan Turnbull (Whitby), MP Taylor Bachrach (Skeena—Bulkley Valley), MP Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands), MP Jean-Denis Garon (Mirabel), Senator Rosa Galvez (Québec) and Julie Segal (Environmental Defence).
Quotes
“Canadian banks are among the worst in the planet in fossil investments. In fact, RBC is the largest investor in fossil fuels of any bank on earth. Climate financing may sound dull as ditch-water but in it lies the systemic change the climate needs."
‒ Elizabeth May, Party leader of the Green Party of Canada and MP for Saanich Gulf-Islands
"The government must now establish instructions for banks and pension funds to protect workers' savings and our climate by shifting money away from polluting activities. Rules are needed now, including defining a set of truly clean activities so Canadians can trust their hard-earned money is helping build the new economy. We’re in a race against time and we need the power of Canada’s financial system serving as a tailwind, not a headwind.”
‒ Taylor Bachrach, Member of Parliament for Skeena-Bulkley Valley
“Climate change is the greatest threat of our time! If we don't respond to the crisis before us, it will cost our economy between $2.7 and $5.5 trillion in GDP, depending on how much temperatures rise. Canada's financial institutions must therefore do their part and not increase climate risk. I invite all colleagues to rise to the occasion: the economy and the environment must go hand in hand! "
‒ Jean-Denis Garon, Member of Parliament for Mirabel, Green Finance Critic for the Bloc Québécois
"Aligning Canada's financial system with our Paris commitments is a critical step to realize the opportunities in a low-carbon economy while protecting the savings of Canadians. Given federally-regulated Canadian banks have some of the highest exposure in the entire world to investments in the fossil fuel sector, our financial system needs more fulsome disclosure of the risk that such investments may have in assets that may become stranded in order to keep warming below 1.5 degrees. M-84 calls for just that. Through regulatory tools such as proper disclosure mechanisms, risk can be assessed and capital can be redirected and attracted to the necessary investments that will create the good jobs of today and tomorrow. I fully support this motion and encourage all Members to vote for this important step forward as we work to avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis on our environment and our economy."
‒ Patrick Weiler, Member of Parliament for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country
"Canada's financial system has the power to be a driving force in our fight against climate change. By redirecting investments towards clean and sustainable initiatives, we can unleash the full potential of our economy while safeguarding our planet. Let us seize this opportunity to work with our financial institutions to protect Canadians hard-earned savings and pave the way for a more sustainable future for all."
‒ Julie Dzerowicz, Member of Parliament for Davenport
“Canada finally has an all-star team of firefighters ready to tackle the biggest gap in Canada’s climate plan: private finance. We must shift private finance into green opportunities and away from climate pollution. Canadian banks and pension funds are the worlds’ largest investors in fossil fuels, which puts our savings and a safe climate at risk, and causes Canada to miss out on opportunities in the green economy. The cross-party support for this motion from the Liberals, NDP, Bloc, and Greens is groundbreaking. This team needs to work together to deploy the tools at their disposal and require all financial institutions to cut the emissions from their investments in half by 2030.”
‒ Julie Segal, Senior Manager Climate Finance, Environmental Defence
“A UN Principle for Responsible Investment study found Canada’s sustainable finance regulation lags behind its international peers when compared to 11 other jurisdictions because of a lack of legal clarity about investors’ duties and insufficient action by policy makers to encourage and enable responsible investment. Clearer regulation would create certainty and ensure Canada’s financial institutions are full participants in our transition. Failing to act on this critical gap in climate policy would lead us to lose out on the flow of capital necessary to achieve our just transition to a net-zero economy.”
‒ Amr Addas, Adjunct Professor, Finance & Academic Director of Sustainability Ecosystem, Concordia University
For more information
For more information on M-84 and interview requests with MP Turnbull contact:
giuseppe.sestini.514@parl.gc.ca
613-295-3504
For interview requests with Senator Galvez contact:
Stéphane Laviolette, Political Strategic Advisor and Office Manager
Stephane.Laviolette@sen.parl.gc.ca
Office of Senator Rosa Galvez
613-996-2210
For technical information on Bill S-243 contact:
Karine Peloffy, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Advisor
Office of Senator Rosa Galvez
343-548-1495
For interview requests with MP Jean-Denis Garon:
Julien Coulombe-Bonnafous, Press Attaché, Bloc Québécois
Julien.CoulombeBonnafous@parl.gc.ca
613-402-0443
For interview requests with Julie Segal, Senior Manager Climate Finance, Environmental Defence:
Alex Ross, Senior Communications Coordinator, Environmental Defence
647-546-3239