Thank you for the invitation to appear. My name is Michael Keenan and I am the Deputy Minister at Transport Canada. I am joined by Ross Ezzedin, Director General, Air, Marine and Environmental Programs.
Transport Canada is fully committed to meeting the targets in the Greening Government Strategy and is committing to a more ambitious target for zero emission vehicle replacement than required (100% instead of the required 80%).
As noted in the audit report, TC has made progress in meeting the Government of Canada’s greenhouse gas emission reduction targets by:
- developing a Carbon Neutral Roadmap that is aligned with the Greening Government Strategy;
- reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 23% as of 2020/21 and reporting results annually to the Centre for Greening Government; and
- putting in place internal controls to validate the data received on TC’s assets and their energy efficiency performance
TC’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions portfolio is unique compared to other departments in that most of our emissions, over 80%, come from our fleet, whereas for other departments, it is their facilities. This presents Transport Canada with a challenging but unique opportunity to push innovation in these sectors towards a more efficient and environmentally responsible transportation system.
As part of the audit of Transport Canada's implementation of the Greening Government Strategy, the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD) issued one recommendation with two parts:
- To continually identify new activities that will significantly contribute to emissions reductions and prioritize them based on risk; and
- To develop a risk management approach that defines significant risks and corresponding mitigation measures.
TC has accepted this recommendation. The department’s Carbon Neutral Roadmap was originally developed in 2018 and is being updated in 2022. The purpose of the Roadmap is to set out a plan for how TC intends to reduce its GHG emissions over the next 30 years and meet the requirements of the Greening Government Strategy by identifying activities, measures, timelines, milestones, projected investments, and estimated reductions for all TC’s assets. The Roadmap will continue to be updated as required as new information and technologies become available that will significantly contribute to the department’s GHG emission reductions.
The department also agrees that having a mechanism in place to identify, measure and manage significant implementation risks. To this end, a Risk Management Framework is currently being developed to support the prioritization of resources towards the activities in the Carbon Neutral Roadmap.
In closing, Transport Canada is firmly committed to continuing this work in greening how we do business, reducing our GHG emissions and taking the necessary steps to ensure we protect the environment and prepare our assets and operations to be more resilient in a changing climate.
Thank you.