Varcoe: Carbon capture spat continues as finance ministers gather

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Are Canadian governments lastly prepared to reply to the US Anti-Inflation Act and the incentives it presents to firms to draw giant decarbonisation spending?

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Can Canada get large power initiatives constructed on time and on finances?

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Will the nation keep away from a recession in 2023?

So many questions – and so few solutions – swirled round Friday because the provincial and territorial finance ministers met in Toronto with their federal counterpart, Chrystia Freeland.

As Alberta and the Feds ready their upcoming 2023 budgets, Freeland pushed all of the provinces to contribute to the “world race” to draw funding in power transition initiatives and net-zero initiatives.

Final yr, the US boosted the help it supplies to scrub power and decarbonisation developments, together with carbon seize, utilization and storage (CCUS) initiatives.

Canadian governments at the moment are struggling to remain within the race or threat shedding out.

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“We’d like the provinces and territories to step in and work with the federal authorities in our response to the Inflation Discount Act,” Freeland instructed reporters.

“The beginning gun has been fired to construct the clear economic system of the twenty first century.”

Because the race has begun, Canada continues to stagger out of the blocks.

Nationwide and world power firms have introduced a wide range of initiatives in Alberta, representing doubtlessly billions of {dollars} in proposed investments in new hydrogen developments, petrochemical complexes and carbon seize amenities.

Imperial Oil’s new $720 million plan to construct Canada’s largest renewable diesel plant close to Edmonton is now transferring ahead and obtained the inexperienced mild final week.

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Nevertheless, most proposals are nonetheless awaiting readability from each provincial and federal governments on the extent of help that may be placed on the desk.

A federal-provincial sport of desk tennis has performed out in latest months, with all sides hitting the ball again into the opposite authorities’s court docket.

Final yr, Ottawa launched a brand new federal funding tax credit score for CCUS developments. This covers as much as half of the spending on gear to seize CO2, under what Canada’s oil sands producers have sought.

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The credit score has since been eclipsed by bigger incentives contained within the US$369 billion American Inflation Discount Act.

“It is modified the enjoying area in terms of the worldwide competitors for capital … so Canada needs to be within the sport as properly,” Freeland mentioned.

“In relation to a few of the very particular funding choices and really particular vegetation, will probably be good for the entire nation. It is going to be particularly good for the provinces the place these investments are based mostly.”

The Trudeau authorities has pressed the UCP authorities to offer its personal incentives or help to such initiatives. The Pathways Alliance, which represents main oil sands producers, additionally appealed to the province for assist.

Treasury Secretary Travis Toews once more pushed again in opposition to the concept that it is as much as county taxpayers to assist compete with the ability of the large U.S. Treasury. He identified that Alberta has already spent practically $2 billion on carbon seize and storage methods relationship again greater than a decade.

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“It is time for the federal authorities to behave,” he instructed reporters.

Toews mentioned in an interview that the province already supplies grants by way of its petrochemical incentive program. It additionally offsets royalty funds made by oil sands operators as they spend capital on main new developments, together with CCUS.

“We actually have not heard something new from Minister Freeland,” he mentioned.

“The feds are actually singling out Alberta on this one and asking us excessively to behave.”

The assembly came about in opposition to the backdrop of slowing progress within the Canadian economic system, considerations a few potential recession and the fallout from larger rates of interest.

Financial institution of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem supplied an financial replace to finance ministers; Toews mentioned he talked about the potential of a “shallow recession” in Canada in 2023.

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Earlier this week, the Worldwide Financial Fund’s newest outlook estimated that Canada’s economic system would develop by simply 1.5 p.c this yr, although that ought to exceed ranges seen within the US, Germany and the UK.

Toews mentioned the ministers additionally mentioned the difficulties Canada has had in constructing main infrastructure initiatives.

“A variety of getting issues executed is about consent and getting issues executed sooner. There’s a lot purple tape,” Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy instructed reporters, pointing to the timeline it takes to develop mines within the province’s Ring of Hearth space.

“Capital will not be going to attend endlessly.”

Main power infrastructure initiatives on this nation are additionally going through rising prices as inflation has soared.

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Earlier this week, TC Vitality confirmed that its Coastal GasLink venture had elevated its finances to $14.5 billion, up from the $11.2 billion finances introduced final summer time and a pre-pandemic estimate of $6.6 billion.

The Trans Mountain pipeline growth final yr elevated greater than 70 p.c to $21.4 billion from a finances set in 2020, hovering from an early forecast of $5.4 billion made in 2013.

Finance ministers should undertake a progress agenda, introduce regulatory reform and meet the challenges of competitiveness to decarbonize Canada’s economic system by offering CCUS incentives, mentioned Scott Crockatt of the Enterprise Council of Alberta.

Whereas the majority of the heavy lifting to compete with the US will come from the federal authorities, there should even be a provincial contribution, he mentioned.

“The Inflation Discount Act in the USA is principally supercharged incentives … Canada wants to reply,” Crockatt mentioned.

“We have now to get it proper.”

Chris Varcoe is a Calgary Herald columnist.

cvarcoe@postmedia.com