Question Period Note: BUDGET 2021 PROPOSED FUNDING FOR GREENING GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES

Budget 2021 proposes $227.9 million to implement a Low-Carbon Fuel Procurement Program within the Greening Government Fund.

• The Government of Canada is committed to being a global leader in government operations that are net-zero, resilient and green and achieving net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its operations by 2050.
• Budget 2021 proposes to provide $227.9 million over eight years, starting in 2023-24, to implement a Low-Carbon Fuel Procurement Program within the Treasury Board Secretariat’s Greening Government Fund.
• The government will also continue to use and expand federal procurement to support the Greening Government Strategy so that public dollars prioritize the use of lower carbon materials, fuels, and processes.
• Federal leadership in procurement will help stimulate market demand and development for low carbon aviation and marine fuels in Canada. This will also help job creation in Canada’s fossil-fuel and renewable energy sectors.
• To support the Government of Canada’s commitment to power federal buildings with 100 per cent clean electricity by 2022, Budget 2021 also proposes to provide $14.9 million over 4 years, starting in 2022-23, with $77.9 million in future years, to Public Services and Procurement Canada for a Federal Clean Electricity Fund to purchase renewable energy certificates for all federal government buildings.
• Greening government operations will not only address our climate change challenges, it will also provide an economic opportunity for new jobs in a green economy.

Low-carbon fuels will be necessary as Canada works to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The Government of Canada is taking a leadership role to put itself on a 2050 net-zero pathway by committing to buy low-carbon fuels for use in the federal domestic air and marine fleets.
By making this commitment now, the government will encourage industry to produce these fuels, creating jobs for Canadians and investing in the clean tech economy.
To support the long-term development of low-emission marine and aviation fuels, Budget 2021 proposes to provide $227.9 million over eight years, starting in 2023-24, to the Treasury Board Secretariat to implement a Low-Carbon Fuel Procurement Program within the Greening Government Fund.
The government will also continue to use and expand federal procurement to support the Greening Government Strategy so that public dollars prioritize the use of lower carbon materials, fuels, and processes.

• As of March 2020, Government of Canada’s GHG emissions from real property and conventional fleet are down 34.6% from the 2005-06 base year.
• The Government of Canada operates a diverse fleet of aircraft and marine vessels that collectively consumed more than 350 million litres of fuel in 2019-20 and generated more than 900 kilotonnes of GHG emissions.
• The Government of Canada is the largest purchaser of goods and services in the country with purchases of more than $18 billion a year.