Linda Coady, Executive Director
[email protected] (778) 867-3981 September 16, 2020 The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, P.C., M.P. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Government of Canada Sent to:
[email protected] Dear Minister Freeland, The Pembina Institute has been and continues to be strongly supportive of the leadership the Government of Canada has demonstrated on assisting Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic. This must remain our nation’s top priority. In the run-up to the Throne Speech this month we also want to confirm our support for federal efforts to align rebuilding with climate objectives by providing funding for reducing methane emissions and cleaning- up abandoned wells, and by imposing climate-related performance requirements on loans provided up the Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF) program. We commend your government’s commitment to staying-the-course on the carbon price increase and the Clean Fuel Standard. We thank you, and Ministers Jonathan Wilkinson, Seamus O’Regan and Catherine McKenna, for your willingness to join other world and business leaders in supporting public investment in a green recovery as a strategy for creating more resilient jobs, communities, and economic opportunities. In our Green Stimulus paper, and our engagement with federal representatives and other stakeholders and decision makers since the pandemic, Pembina has put forward a comprehensive series of recommendations on how this can be done in ways that maximize employment, investment, and emissions reduction. We want to take this opportunity to draw your attention to the fact that we do not stand alone on these issues and ideas.