ADVOCACY CORNER

Featured in the newsletter on a monthly basis, Advocacy Corner provides insight into federal and provincial political activity of importance to our Members. Read on to find out what decisions are being made, what’s on the horizon, and what it all means for our sector.

New Year, Old Tune

When the federal cabinet met in Hamilton last week, the most pressing issues being considered were the state of healthcare in Canada and affordability.

If that sounds familiar, that’s because it is. When the cabinet met around this time last year, inflation may have been considered a bad word that shouldn’t be spoken, but in reality the government was seized with advancing budget measures that would reduce the financial burden many Canadians were already facing.

Fast forward a year and the government has been forced to acknowledge the severity of inflation – something Official Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre has been warning about since the pandemic began – while continuing to advance significant affordability initiatives including the implementation of bilateral childcare agreements with the provinces, a temporary increase to GST support, a one-time housing benefit for low-income Canadians, and the launch of the interim Canada Dental Plan to support low-income families.

As the Liberal government sets into the new year fending off attacks from Conservative MPs on its “tax on everything,” the carbon tax, the government will also be crafting its 2023 Budget. This Budget can be expected to make further investments in the renewable energy and clean technology sectors as the government continues to defend Canada’s competitiveness in response to the US Inflation Reduction Act.

Of note, it is already being rumoured that the Budget could be delivered as late as mid-April to account for US President Joe Biden’s long-awaited official visit to Canada, which is anticipated to be sometime in March.

LNG, or Bust?

With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, leaders around the world are racing to secure energy independence from Russia, specifically for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

In 2022, when German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Canada, he pleaded for Canadian energy as a means to get the country through the winter and replace traditional reliance on Russian LNG. While that visit prompted good news on the development of renewable hydrogen through wind projects in Eastern Canada, Scholz ultimately left Canada with no promises that Canadian LNG would be shipped to Germany.

This month, it was the turn of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to visit Canada with pleas for supplies of Canadian LNG. Yet, as Kishida’s visit came to a close, no concrete commitments had been made regarding the supply of Canadian LNG to Japan. In a subsequent trade mission to Japan immediately following Kishida’s return, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson has set to work on strengthening the working relationship between Canada and Japan, particularly as it relates to progress on LNG in Canada.

But on the home front, a decision still must be made by Wilkinson and his federal cabinet colleagues on the $3-billion Cedar LNG project in BC following a favourable recommendation by the federal Impact Assessment Agency last fall. This will be another important opportunity for the government to demonstrate its commitment to approving energy projects following the approval of the Bay-du-Nord offshore oil project in Newfoundland last summer.

What Lies Ahead

Finally, I’d be remiss not to comment on the current state of federal politics, where questions have dogged the Prime Minister on whether or not he’ll lead the Liberals into the next election.

As Chrystia Freeland, Anita Anand, FrancoisPhilippe Champagne, Melanie Joly, and Mark Carney wait in the wings to pursue the Liberal leadership, the Liberals and Conservatives continue an arms race to out-prepare one another in case of an election this year. However, with the federal NDP support continuing to slip, don’t expect the NDP to abandon their coalition with the Liberals or force an election anytime soon.