The Building Back Better Canada Plan will create or maintain 6.3 million jobs - and it's all green

TORONTO, June 30, 2020 /CNW/ - Corporate Knights Inc. today released a comprehensive report challenging the government and business to act boldly coming out of COVID-19 to Build Back Better by accelerating actions for a green recovery.

Co-authored by leading energy systems and public policy experts Ralph Torrie and Céline Bak, with Toby Heaps, CEO of Corporate Knights, with input from more than 100 of Canada's most inspired minds, the report is a synthesis of seven white papers published from April to June. It presents compelling original evidence to support a $109 billion investment by the federal government over the next 10 years to trigger total investments of $790 billion, mostly from the private sector, setting Canada on a path to a resilient, net-zero economic recovery.

The Building Back Better Canada Plan makes it clear that governments have a unique opportunity today to boost economic growth, create millions of new jobs and position Canadian businesses as suppliers rather than buyers in tomorrow's economy. Combined, the proposals create or maintain more than 6.3 million years of employment and trigger $681 billion of additional investment in the next decade. They would also deliver $44 billion annually in energy savings to Canadians while reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 242 megatonnes (Mt) of CO2e per year by 2030 and setting a course for a zero carbon Canada within a generation.

The proposals differ from what the federal government currently has in place in two important respects: they go further on emissions reductions and they go to the heart of our industrial policy, targeting investments in high-growth areas where Canada has strong competitive advantages to compete and win in global markets. This latter point was emphasized yesterday in a letter from business leaders urging Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau to place a bold green recovery at the heart of the government's recovery program.

"As policy-makers design economic recovery plans, they are making decisions that will cast the die of our economy for decades to come," said the report authors. "For this once-in-a-generation investment, it's vital that we look ahead and invest in building an economy that's ready for tomorrow."

In addition to direct federal investment, the report argues that it is essential that the federal government set the right policy framework to drive the transition to net-zero and use its spending power to encourage provinces and municipalities to follow suit by attaching green strings as a condition for accessing federal stimulus funds.

The areas for investment for the Building Back Better Canada Plan include the following programs:

• deep retrofits of homes and workplaces
• accelerated electric vehicle (EV) uptake
• support for active mobility (e.g. walking and biking)
• greening of the electricity grid
• decarbonizing of heavy industry
• nature-based climate solutions for our forests and farmland, and
• making Canada a leading supplier of EV components and zero-carbon natural resources.

"Our proposal is that the Building Back Better Canada Plan would ensure that, starting now, integrated and mutually supportive zero-carbon investment programs support Canada's move to net-zero emissions while delivering strong risk-adjusted returns to Canadians through their savings and pensions" the report concludes.

About Corporate Knights: 
Corporate Knights Inc. includes the sustainable business magazine Corporate Knights and a research division that produces rankings and financial product ratings based on corporate sustainability performance. Corporate Knights was named Magazine of the Year at the National Magazine Awards in 2013 and won the SABEW Canada Silver Award for Investigative Reporting in 2019.

SOURCE Corporate Knights Inc.