Latest news with #JerryDeMarco
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
GOLDSTEIN: Liberals' clean energy crusade has been a super disaster
Before Prime Minister Mark Carney attempts to turn Canada into a clean energy superpower he needs to explain why a decade of Liberal government policies intended to achieve this have been a massive failure on every front. According to the Liberal government's own estimate, as of April 2023 it had spent or committed over $200 billion of taxpayers' money to 149 government programs addressing climate change. In terms of the primary goal of this spending, reducing Canada's industrial greenhouse gas emissions to at least 40% below 2005 levels by 2030, the latest available government data from 2023 shows emissions were just 8.5% below 2005 levels. Achieving the Liberals' 2030 target will require the equivalent of eliminating all annual emissions from Canada's transportation and building sectors in seven years, which would inevitably cause a massive recession. When environmental commissioner Jerry V. DeMarco audited 20 of the government's 149 programs, he found fewer than half were on track to achieve their goals and of 32 additional measures the government claimed would assist in reaching the 2030 target, only seven were new. His audit uncovered examples where two different government programs were funding the same projects and reporting the same expected emission cuts, raising the possibility of double counting. GOLDSTEIN: Ignoring contracting rules costs taxpayers billions: auditor general GOLDSTEIN: Carney can't fix Canada's underperforming economy on his own GOLDSTEIN: The hazards of becoming a 'green energy superpower' DeMarco said the government's lack of transparency in reporting emissions made it impossible for the average citizen to understand its claims. The computer modelling used to estimate emissions was also out of date and 'recent decreases to projected 2030 emissions were not due to climate action taken by governments, but were instead because of revisions to the data used in modelling.' DeMarco noted that aside from falling far short of its emission targets, Canada has the worst record of reducing emissions of any member of the G7, including the U.S. The U.S. has cut emissions at almost double Canada's rate, without imposing a national carbon tax. In terms of getting value for money, auditor general Karen Hogan reported last year that in one of the government's 149 climate programs – the now-disbanded $1-billion Sustainable Development Technology Fund – there were 90 cases where conflict-of-interest rules were ignored in awarding $76 million worth of government contracts and 10 cases where $56 million was awarded to ineligible projects. DeMarco reported last week that despite spending over $6.6 billion on government programs to help Canadians adapt to more severe weather caused by climate change since 2015, the Liberals' national adaptation strategy, released in 2023, lacked essential elements to make it effective and progress since then has been slow. Parliamentary budget officer Yves Giroux last year estimated the cost of government subsidies to Canada's auto sector to manufacture electric vehicles and batteries at up to $52.5 billion on 13 major projects – $31.4 billion, or 60%, paid by federal taxpayers and $21.1 billion, or 40%, paid by provincial taxpayers in Ontario and Quebec. That's $6.3 billion more than the announced investments of $46.1 billion the auto sector is contributing to these projects, with many now delayed due to slower than anticipated EV sales. While Canada's employment rate and economic growth are influenced by many factors, the Liberals have repeatedly promised since coming to power in 2015 that government spending on their climate policies would lead to significant increases in jobs and economic growth, which has not been the case. Statistics Canada reported earlier this month that Canada's unemployment rate rose to 7% in May, the highest it's been since September 2016, excluding the 2020 and 2021 pandemic years, and a 12.9% increase from 6.2% a year ago in May. When DeMarco reported in 2023 on the Liberals' so-called 'just transition' plan to assist energy sector workers to retrain for Canada's new green economy, he concluded it didn't exist, despite the government having promised it in 2019. 'We found that as Canada shifts focus to low-carbon alternatives, the government is not prepared to provide appropriate support to … workers in the fossil fuel sector,' DeMarco said. 'The transition was being handled on a business-as-usual basis, relying on existing program mechanisms such as the employment insurance program to deliver support.' (Eventually the Liberals passed what they called the Canadian Sustainable Jobs Act in 2024, with many of these concerns still outstanding.) In terms of economic growth, Statistics Canada reported earlier this year that Canada's real GDP per capita, which measures economic output per person, adjusted for inflation, and is a widely accepted metric for measuring the standard of living, fell by 1.4% in 2024, following a decline of 1.3% in 2023. Over its near-decade in power, Canada's economic growth under the Liberals has been the lowest since the government of R.B. Bennett during the Great Depression. lgoldstein@
Toronto Sun
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
EDITORIAL: A $6.6 billion climate boondoggle
Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development Jerry DeMarco is seen during a news conference, Thursday, Nov. 25, 2021 in Ottawa. Photo by Adrian Wyld / THE CANADIAN PRESS One of the least controversial and most effective ways to address climate change is to adapt to it. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The other strategy — mitigation — is a long-term program that will have no discernible effect on the frequency of severe weather for decades, and is reliant on global action rather than initiatives by Canada alone. By contrast, adaptation, which Canada can do on its own, can have immediate health, safety and economic benefits for Canadians. The purpose of adaptation is to limit the damage caused by wildfires, floods and droughts by making public and private infrastructure more resilient to extreme weather and enacting sensible planning and building code policies to provide communities with maximum protection. Despite the fact the environment ministry claims that investing in adaptation can save up to $15 for every $1 spent, a report by federal environment commissioner Jerry V. DeMarco released Tuesday suggests the more than $6.6 billion the Liberals have spent on developing a national adaptation strategy has become a boondoggle. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. DeMarco found the federal government has been slow to implement its national adaptation strategy and that when it was finally announced in 2023, it lacked essential elements to make it effective, while progress since then has been slow. DeMarco said the missing elements included 'a prioritization of Canada's climate change risks, an economic analysis to assign appropriate resources to different federal adaptation actions, a comprehensive federal action plan, and an effective framework for measuring and monitoring results.' He found the key component of the plan — actions to be taken by the federal government to adapt to climate change — 'was neither systematic nor comprehensive' and that the 73 actions it outlined, 'were a mix of new and existing federal programming' lacking any assessment of the outcomes for vulnerable communities. DeMarco said his audit of seven important actions within the plan found their implementation was limited and that two other important strategies — joint action plans by the federal, provincial and territorial governments and actions to be taken in co-operation with Canada's Indigenous communities, had not been established as of late 2024. Given that the Liberals say climate change is an existential threat, their lack of progress on helping Canadians to adapt to it raises serious questions about their credibility on the issue. Toronto & GTA World Toronto Blue Jays Toronto & GTA World
CBC
11-06-2025
- Health
- CBC
Ottawa's plan for climate change adaptation is falling short, report says
Social Sharing Ottawa's efforts to prepare the country for the impacts of climate change have stumbled out of the gate, Canada's environment commissioner said Tuesday. In a new report, Jerry DeMarco concluded the National Adaptation Strategy was not effectively designed, did not prioritize Canada's climate change risks and only established one of its three components since its release in 2023. Canada has committed $1.6 billion to implementing the strategy, which is meant as a road map for communities across the country to up their game to prevent significant damage as the number of major storms, floods and fires increase exponentially with climate change. WATCH | Provinces, territories sign on to national climate adaptation strategy: Provinces, territories sign on to national climate adaptation strategy 2 years ago Duration 2:02 Jurisdictions across Canada are greenlighting a new government strategy aimed at helping communities adapt to increasingly severe weather caused by climate change, including extreme heat, wildfires and flooding. It aims to end extreme heat deaths by 2040 while pushing for urban tree planting and changes to building codes. Environment and Climate Change Canada estimated that every dollar spent on proactive adaptation measures can save taxpayers between $13 and $15 in the long term. Canada was relatively late to the game when it released its strategy in 2023. Japan, France and the United Kingdom were already on the third updates of their plans at that point; Germany had updated its plan four times. "We first recommended the development of a strategy to adapt to Canada's changing climate nearly 20 years ago," DeMarco said in a news release. "Although the release of the National Adaptation Strategy in 2023 was an important first step, urgent attention is still needed to achieve impactful action. The sooner that Canada acts, the more sustainable the outcomes for people's health, safety and livelihoods." Risks like wildfire smoke health impacts, Lyme disease not prioritized DeMarco said the strategy failed to prioritize Canada's climate change risks when establishing objectives and targets. He said government departments relied instead on existing priorities and consultations. "We also found that although some climate change risks were identified during the consultation process for the strategy, they were not addressed in the final targets," the report said. WATCH | Record wildfires plunge Canada's air quality below the U.S. for first time: Record wildfires plunge Canada's air quality below the U.S. for first time 1 year ago Duration 2:04 DeMarco cited the short-term health impacts of wildfire smoke, estimated to cost between $410 million and $1.8 billion annually between 2013 and 2018. He also remarked on the prevalence of Lyme disease cases, rising from 144 in 2009 to 2,525 in 2022 — an increase of more than 1,500 per cent. "Environment and Climate Change Canada told us that it will not add any new targets until 2030. Without any dedicated targets to address these risks within the National Adaptation Strategy, the federal government had failed to highlight the need for immediate 'whole of society' action to address them," the report said. Environment and Climate Change Canada also didn't develop "a process to keep climate change risks up to date and integrate them into future updates of the strategy," the report said. WATCH | As recorded cases of Lyme disease rise, so do hopes for a vaccine: As recorded cases of Lyme disease rise, so do hopes for a vaccine 5 hours ago Duration 2:37 If left untreated, the infection can lead to severe heart, joint and nervous system problems. While there are vaccines for dogs, there are no Lyme vaccines approved for humans. Richard Cuthbertson has the story. DeMarco said federal programs meant to advance implementation of the National Adaptation Strategy contributed little. Ottawa must report annually on 17 programs that are key to advancing the strategy's implementation. DeMarco examined seven of them that account for $1.1 billion of the money earmarked for the strategy. Did flood hazard mapping money actually help? While several of them had goals and targets, DeMarco said there was nothing to show whether it was actually helping to advance the implementation of the National Adaptation Strategy. "That's a big problem in terms of accountability for what are going to be very large expenditures, and already have been large expenditures to date, if you aren't tying them together," DeMarco told The Canadian Press. "It's very difficult to know whether Canadians are getting value for the money that's being spent on it." WATCH | Flood maps are vital when planning for extreme weather. So why are they so hard to find? Flood maps are vital when planning for extreme weather. So why are they so hard to find? 2 years ago Duration 5:36 For instance, the government has allocated $164 million to a flood hazard identification and mapping program led by Natural Resources Canada — almost $40 million for the first year alone. The report found the project had "minimal early actions taken" to determine whether it was actually contributing to the implementation of the national strategy. "It is fairly unusual to have a strategy that doesn't have connected goals, targets and indicators," Kim Leach, the audit's principal, told The Canadian Press. "There's a lack of connection between the [national strategy] itself and some of these targets and indicators, because it's such a grab bag of old and new programming." 2 in 3 'key pillars' not finalized DeMarco also found the government has not yet finalized two of the three key pillars of the strategy. WATCH | Community grapples with impact of climate change on Inuit way of life: In Labrador, it's all about adaptation in the face of climate change 2 years ago Duration 7:14 He pointed out that an Indigenous climate leadership agenda still hasn't been established — it was supposed to be done by the end of 2024 — and the completion of federal, provincial and territorial bilateral action plans has been pushed to 2026. Only the federal government's adaptation action plan has been finalized. "Additionally, although First Nations, Inuit, and Métis organizations had each released national climate strategies, we found that Environment and Climate Change Canada had not formally assessed the coherence between federal programming and Indigenous-led strategies," the report said.
Canada Standard
11-06-2025
- Health
- Canada Standard
Ottawa's Plan for Climate Adaptation Is Falling Short, Report Says
Ottawa's efforts to prepare the country for the impacts of climate change have stumbled out of the gate, Canada's environment commissioner said Tuesday. In a new report, Jerry DeMarco concluded the National Adaptation Strategy was not effectively designed, did not prioritize Canada's climate change risks and only established one of its three components since its release in 2023, The Canadian Press reports. Canada has committed $1.6 billion to implementing the strategy, which is meant as a road map for communities across the country to up their game to prevent significant damage as the number of major storms, floods and fires increase exponentially with climate change. Environment and Climate Change Canada estimated that every dollar spent on proactive adaptation measures can save taxpayers between $13 and $15 in the long term. Canada was relatively late to the game when it released its strategy in 2023. Japan, France and the United Kingdom were already on the third updates of their plans at that point; Germany had updated its plan four times. "We first recommended the development of a strategy to adapt to Canada's changing climate nearly 20 years ago," DeMarco said in a news release. "Although the release of the National Adaptation Strategy in 2023 was an important first step, urgent attention is still needed to achieve impactful action. The sooner that Canada acts, the more sustainable the outcomes for people's health, safety and livelihoods." View our latest digests DeMarco said the strategy failed to prioritize Canada's climate change risks when establishing objectives and targets. He said government departments relied instead on existing priorities and consultations. "We also found that although some climate change risks were identified during the consultation process for the strategy, they were not addressed in the final targets," the report said. DeMarco cited the short-term health impacts of wildfire smoke, estimated to cost between $410 million and $1.8 billion annually between 2013 and 2018. He also remarked on the prevalence of Lyme disease cases, rising from 144 in 2009 to 2,525 in 2022-an increase of more than 1,500%. "Environment and Climate Change Canada told us that it will not add any new targets until 2030. Without any dedicated targets to address these risks within the National Adaptation Strategy, the federal government had failed to highlight the need for immediate wholeofsociety action to address them," the report said. Environment and Climate Change Canada also didn't develop "a process to keep climate change risks up to date and integrate them into future updates of the strategy," the report said. DeMarco said federal programs meant to advance implementation of the National Adaptation Strategy contributed little. Ottawa must report annually on 17 programs that are key to advancing the strategy's implementation. DeMarco examined seven of them that account for $1.1 billion of the money earmarked for the strategy. While several of them had goals and targets, DeMarco said there was nothing to show whether it was actually helping to advance the implementation of the National Adaptation Strategy. "That's a big problem in terms of accountability for what are going to be very large expenditures, and already have been large expenditures to date, if you aren't tying them together," DeMarco told The Canadian Press. "It's very difficult to know whether Canadians are getting value for the money that's being spent on it." For instance, the government has allocated $164 million to a flood hazard identification and mapping program led by Natural Resources Canada-almost $40 million for the first year alone. The report found the project had "minimal early actions taken" to determine whether it was actually contributing to the implementation of the national strategy. "It is fairly unusual to have a strategy that doesn't have connected goals targets and indicators," Kim Leach, the audit's principal, told The Canadian Press. "There's a lack of connection between the (national strategy) itself and some of these targets and indicators, because it's such a grab bag of old and new programming." DeMarco also found the government has not yet finalized two of the three key pillars of the strategy. He pointed out that an Indigenous climate leadership agenda still hasn't been established-it was supposed to be done by the end of 2024-and the completion of federal, provincial and territorial bilateral action plans has been pushed to 2026. Only the federal government's adaptation action plan has been finalized. "Additionally, although First Nations, Inuit, and Metis organizations had each released national climate strategies, we found that Environment and Climate Change Canada had not formally assessed the coherence between federal programming and Indigenous-led strategies," the report said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2025. Source: The Energy Mix
CTV News
10-06-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Ottawa's plan for climate change adaptation is falling short, report says
Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development Jerry V. DeMarco holds a news conference at the National Press Theatre on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick OTTAWA — Ottawa's efforts to prepare the country for the impacts of climate change have stumbled out of the gate, Canada's environment commissioner said Tuesday. In a new report, Jerry DeMarco concluded the National Adaptation Strategy was not effectively designed, did not prioritize Canada's climate change risks and only established one of three components since its release in 2023. Canada has committed $1.6 billion so far to implement the strategy, which is meant as a road map for adaptation measures for climate impacts. Environment and Climate Change Canada has estimated that every dollar spent on proactive adaptation measures can save taxpayers between $13 and $15 in the long term. Canada was relatively late to the game when it released its strategy in 2023. Japan, France and the United Kingdom were already on the third updates of their plans at that point; Germany had updated its plan four times. 'We first recommended the development of a strategy to adapt to Canada's changing climate nearly 20 years ago,' DeMarco said in a news release. 'Although the release of the National Adaptation Strategy in 2023 was an important first step, urgent attention is still needed to achieve impactful action. The sooner that Canada acts, the more sustainable the outcomes for people's health, safety and livelihoods.' DeMarco said the strategy failed to prioritize Canada's climate change risks when establishing objectives and targets. He said government departments relied instead on existing priorities and consultations. 'We also found that although some climate change risks were identified during the consultation process for the strategy, they were not addressed in the final targets,' the report said. DeMarco cited the short-term health impacts of wildfire smoke, estimated to cost between $410 million and $1.8 billion annually between 2013 and 2018. He also remarked on the prevalence of Lyme disease cases, rising from 144 in 2009 to 2,525 in 2022 -- an increase of more than 1,500 per cent. 'Environment and Climate Change Canada told us that it will not add any new targets until 2030. Without any dedicated targets to address these risks within the National Adaptation Strategy, the federal government had failed to highlight the need for immediate wholeΓÇæofΓÇæsociety action to address them,' the report said. Environment and Climate Change Canada also didn't develop 'a process to keep climate change risks up to date and integrate them into future updates of the strategy,' the report said. DeMarco said federal programs meant to advance implementation of the National Adaptation Strategy contributed little. Ottawa must report annually on 17 programs that are key to advancing the strategy's implementation. DeMarco examined seven of them that account for $1.1 billion of the money earmarked for the strategy. But while some of the programs had goals and targets, there was no way to know whether they were actually helping to implement the National Adaptation Strategy, DeMarco said. DeMarco also found the government has not yet finalized two of the three key pillars in the strategy. He pointed out that an Indigenous climate leadership agenda still hasn't been established -- it was supposed to be done by the end of 2024 -- and the completion of federal, provincial and territorial bilateral action plans has been pushed to 2026. Only the federal government's adaptation action plan has been finalized. 'Additionally, although First Nations, Inuit, and Metis organizations had each released national climate strategies, we found that Environment and Climate Change Canada had not formally assessed the coherence between federal programming and Indigenous-led strategies,' the report said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2025. Nick Murray, The Canadian Press
