Clean Energy Canada | Letter: We congratulate the First Ministers on Canada's new climate plan
December 12, 2016

We congratulate the Prime Minister and Premiers on achieving a national plan to drive clean growth and make real progress on climate change.  This plan includes the key elements needed to do so, including a rising price on carbon, world class standards for clean power and energy efficiency, major investments in clean infrastructure like buildings, transportation and energy systems, and strong support for clean innovation and technology.

The shift to a high performance, low carbon economy is underway across Canada and around the world, and it offers tremendous opportunity for all parts of the economy.  This kind of coordinated government leadership is critical to accelerate our progress and help us keep pace with global leaders, by catalyzing private initiative and innovation across the country.

This plan sets the right direction.  The next challenge is to turn these commitments into action.  This will require smart policy design and effective implementation – to enable Canada to meet its global climate commitments and boost clean growth across the economy, while helping vulnerable populations to adjust and businesses to be globally competitive.

We offer our full support in helping Canada to seize this critical economic and environmental opportunity, and we commit to lead by example in our own organizations and networks.

Sincerely,

Dominic Barton, Global Managing Director, McKinsey and Company
Ross Beaty, Chairman, Pan American Silver Corp; Executive Chairman, Alterra Power Corp
Guy Cormier, President and CEO, Desjardins Group
John Coyne, Vice-President, Legal and External Affairs, Unilever Canada Inc.
Michael Crothers, President and Canada Country Chair, Shell Canada
Arlene Dickinson, CEO, Venture Communications
Stewart Elgie, Professor, University of Ottawa; co-Chair, Smart Prosperity
Phil Fontaine, Former National Chief, Assembly of First Nations
Robert Hardt, President and CEO, Siemens Canada
Jean-Francois Huc, President and CEO, BioAmber
Greg Kiessling, President, UpCapital Ltd.
Jim Lopez, President and CEO, Tembec
John Lounds, President and CEO, Nature Conservancy of Canada
David Miller, President and CEO, WWF – Canada; Former Mayor, City of Toronto
Lorraine Mitchelmore, co-Chair, Smart Prosperity; former President, Canada Country Chair, Shell Canada
Ken Neumann, Canadian National Director, United Steelworkers
Merrell-Ann Phare, Founding Executive Director, Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources
Vicky Sharpe, Founding President and CEO, Sustainable Development Technology Canada
Jean Simard, President, Aluminum Association of Canada; co-Founder and Director, SWITCH
Merran Smith, Executive Director, Clean Energy Canada
Rick Smith, Executive Director, Broadbent Institute
John Stackhouse, Senior Vice-President, Office of the CEO, Royal Bank of Canada
Kali Taylor, Founding Executive Director, Student Energy
Annette Verschuren, Chair and CEO, NRStor; co-Chair, Smart Prosperity
Robert Wesseling, President and CEO, The Co-operators
Galen Weston, President and Executive Chairman, Loblaw Companies Ltd.
Ed Whittingham, Executive Director, Pembina Institute