Budget 2018, Equality + Growth: A Strong Middle Class was tabled by the federal government on February 27. The Globe and Mail published a concise overview in “Federal budget highlights: Twelve things you need to know” . A compilation of reaction and analysis from the Canadian Centre for Policy Analysis is here , including statements from CCPA partner organizations such as the United Steelworkers and the Canadian Labour Congress.
The section of the Budget which relates most to a low carbon economy is in Chapter 4: Advancement . The Budget commits an unprecedented $1.3 billion over 5 years for conservation partnerships and the protection of lands, waters, and species at risk – prompting the Pew Trust in the U.S. to call the biodiversity targets “an example to the world” in “With earth in peril, Canada steps up” . Responses from the 19 environmental advocacy members of the Green Budget Coalition are compiled here , applauding the “historic” and “landmark” investments in the Budget. DeSmog Canada summarizes the provisions, which aim to protect 17 per cent of land and 10 per cent of oceans by 2020 under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, and commit to recognizing Indigenous leadership.
But on the climate change front?
The National Observer writes: “Budget delivers new conservation fund but avoids climate commitments” (Feb. 27) , highlighting the Budget allocations announced for the the $2.6 Billion Low Carbon Economy Fund (announced in 2016) : $420 million will go to Ontario, for retrofitting houses and reducing emissions from farms; $260 million will go to Quebec for farming and forestry best practices, as well as energy retrofitting, and incentives for industry; $162 million will go to British Columbia, partly for reforestation of public forests; $150 million will go to Alberta for energy efficiency programs for farmers and ranchers, for renewable energy in Indigenous communities, and for restoring forests after wildfires; $51 million is going to New Brunswick and $56 million to Nova Scotia for energy retrofitting. Allocations for Manitoba will be announced later, and for Saskatchewan if it signs on to the Pan-Canadian Framework.
The Pembina Institute reaction is also fairly positive in “Budget 2018 builds on last year’s commitment to climate change” . “We are pleased to see that Budget 2018 allocates $109 million over five years to develop, implement, administer, and enforce the federal carbon pollution pricing system. …Another $20 million over five years is allocated to fulfill the PCF’s (Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change) commitment to assess the effectiveness of its measures and identify best practices. ”
Less positive reaction: “Council of Canadians disappointed by Trudeau government’s budget 2018” (Feb.27), which points out that the government has allocated $600 million to host the G7 summit in June 2018 in Quebec, yet the Budget fails to phase out subsidies for the fossil fuel industry, as it committed to at the G20 meetings and in the October 2015 election. Elizabeth May of the Green Party also “laments squandered opportunities” and points out that “Budget 2018 does not touch subsidies to fossil fuels in the oil patch and for fracked natural gas”.
In advance of Budget 2018, the Canadian Labour Congress published “What Canada’s unions would like to see in the federal budget” – a broad perspective which included a call for “a bold green economic program of targeted investments over the next five years for renewable energy development and infrastructure” … and “ the establishment of Just Transition training and adjustment funds for workers affected by climate change and the transition to a low-carbon economy, automation, the digitisation of work, and job losses caused by trade agreements like CETA.” The CLC response to the actual Budget emphasizes the positive developments on issues like pharmacare and pay equity, but is silent on the green economy issues. Canadian Union of Public Employees’ reaction is similar.
