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- Funding and program eligibility details for the Indigenous loan guarantee program. The 2023 Fall Economic Statement announced the Trudeau government’s intention to introduce an Indigenous loan guarantee program. The program would address longstanding structural governance and financial management roadblocks preventing Indigenous communities from borrowing vast sums of capital. Capital that would open the door for more Indigenous communities to own an equity stake in major projects. The lack of program and funding details to date has meant that project developers and Indigenous communities are hampered in their efforts to unlock $225 billion in economic opportunities tied to the vast amount of land, energy and mineral resources under Indigenous control or ownership. These are key to Indigenous economic reconciliation and the country’s transition to a low-carbon economy.
- Update on clean investment tax credits eligibility and timing. Businesses welcomed the federal government’s five climate-related investment tax credits (ITCs). The Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit—the last of the ITCs announced—is estimated by the Canadian Climate Institute to provide $25.7 billion in tax incentives between 2024 and 2035. The tax incentives will lower capital costs and put businesses in a better position to compete against the Inflation Reduction Act for domestic and foreign capital flows. Yet, businesses have been hesitant to move ahead with their planned capital projects. They want certainty that the ITCs will materialize, and their projects will meet all eligibility criteria. These concerns are not unfounded. The pace of climate policy making suggests there may not be enough runway room before the next federal election to pass all the legislative amendments required to operationalize the ITCs. An update on the ITC program design including finalized eligibility criteria, and the government’s targeted dates for clearing all legislative hurdles would provide businesses and investors with the clarity they need to start putting their plans and capital into motion.
- Update on Impact Assessment Act. About 150 mining and forestry major projects were planned or already under construction in May 2023. The economic value of these projects is $99.2 billion. The Supreme Court’s decision in October 2023 on the federal government’s overreach of applying the Impact Assessment Act added more regulatory uncertainty to the permitting process for resource projects. A detailed game plan of how the government intends to address the Supreme Court’s ruling will provide resource companies—in particular those with planned projects—and investors with the regulatory and timing certainty needed to decide if, where, and when to deploy their capital.
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