Presentation Overview

1. Green Budget Coalition:A Unique Asset of Canada’s Environmental Communityby Andrew Van Iterson – Manager, Green Budget Coalition CACOR Meeting January 15, 2014

2. Presentation Overview • Green Budget Coalition • Who we are • What we do – annual GBC cycle • Successes • Lessons Learned • Challenges • 2014 Budget Recommendations

3. Bird Studies Canada Canadian Environmental Law Association Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) David Suzuki Foundation Ducks Unlimited Canada Ecojustice Canada Ecology Action Centre Friends of the Earth Greenpeace Canada International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Nature Canada Nature Conservancy of Canada Pembina Institute WWF-Canada Inactive: Sierra Club Canada Wildlife Habitat Canada GBC membership

4. Inception 1999

5. Mission To present an analysis of the most pressing issues regarding environmental sustainability in Canada and to make a consolidated annual set of recommendations to the federal government regarding strategic fiscal and budgetary opportunities.

6. Ecological Fiscal Reform (EFR) Ensuring market prices accurately reflect the true value of the required resources, today and in future, as well as the full costs and benefits to the environment and human health associated with their development, production, transportation, sale, use and disposal. • Tools: taxes, fees, rebates, credits, subsidy removal.

7. GBC’s Annual Cycle (part 1) • April/May - AGM – • Assess past year, • Identify and prioritize recommendations (within caucuses) and strategy for next budget • Address GBC leadership and finances • Apr-Aug – • Develop detailed recommendations • Liaise informally with departments. • Sept – Compile & circulate preliminary recommendations widely across federal government.

8. GBC’s Annual Cycle (part 2) • Oct: • Meet w Deputy Ministers and Finance officials to discuss recommendations and garner feedback • Present to House of Commons Finance Committee • Finalize document, translate, lay out, print. • Nov – • Release final document/send widely across government. • Meet with Ministers, political staff, MPs from all parties, senior Finance staff • Met with over 80 government officials since Sept.

9. GBC’s Annual Cycle (part 3) • Dec-Feb: Specific issue follow-up • Feb/Mar: Coordinate around budget. • (Apr/May – AGM) • [Year-round – Fund-raise]

10. Overall Budget Success • Over $20 billion allocated to environmental initiatives, and • Strategic advances on ecological fiscal reform. • for example: • 2004: $5 billion (over 10 years) • 2005: $5 billion (over 5 years) plus budget annex on environmental taxation mentioning GBC • 2007: Progress on all five priority recommendations • 2013: Funding for marine conservation, Natural Areas Conservation Program, First Nations infrastructure, ongoing infrastructure plan, SDTC, and two subsidy reductions; • 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013: Reductions in subsidies to fossil fuels and/or mining.

11. Government Relations Success Developed high level of access to MP’s and senior government officials, particularly within Environment & Finance Canada. • Met with every Finance Minister. • Meet annually with key MPs, DMs, PMO, PCO. • Received testimonial letters from all major opposition party leaders, 3 DM’s, and a former Prime Minister.

12. Internal Strength Continues as a unique, cohesive coalition: • Operates smoothly, on a consensus basis, with a high level of mutual trust, and few internal rules. • Active participation across spectrum of Canada’s leading environmental and conservation groups. • Provides unique forum in which Canada’s major ENGO’s work together for common objectives. • Agreed to prioritize 3-6 recommendations per budget.

13. Internal Strength II – Co-benefits • Provides forum to seek consensus and share expertise amongst ENGOs, including where diverging approaches exist within and across caucuses (ie use of Carbon-pricing revenues) • Forum for discussing unexpected events notable to ENGOs, i.e., elections. • Nurtures cooperation and relationships amongst ENGO staff, including offshoot coalitions & networks.

14. GBC – Independent Evaluation • Highly-respected within government. • Effective. • Unique. • Merited clarity on role.

15. Lessons,Challenges…

16. Lessons - Importance of... • Persistence • Government relationships (and of respecting private discussions) • Complementary efforts from individual ENGO’s, bureaucrats, MPs, political staff, Finance, & - ideally - the public. • Balancing annual budget focus with building support for long-term objectives, framing do-able asks towards longer-term objectives. 16

17. Lessons Learned - II • Prioritizing recommendations • Balancing role of individual members with role of Coalition • Communications: • Different members’ approaches • Importance and challenge of speaking with one voice • Challenge of Budget Day – progress vs regression, end point of multiple campaigns;

18. Lessons Learned - III • Environmental issues still seen as ‘sector concern’, not yet as fundamental imperative of all decision-making. • Government’s resistance to introducing new fees & taxes, and reducing subsidies, vs. its openness to spending

19. Challenges/Opportunities for Improvement • Internal funding/sustainability • Getting sufficient Conservative political support for non-nature recommendations • More extensive modeling & economic analysis of our recommendations • Analysis of budget measures implementation • Comprehensive EA of full budget • Mobilising public support 19

20. 2014 Budget Recommendations • Subsidy Reform in Extractive Industries • Canadian Exploration Expense/Canadian Development Expense, Mineral Exploration Tax Credit • National Conservation Plan: • National parks, oceans, private lands, grasslands, migratory birds, connecting Canadians to nature • Protecting Canada’s Fresh water: • Land-based run-off of pollutants, Great Lakes WQP, adapting to water quanity/quality changes, invasive species

21. 2014 Budget Recommendations II • Energy/Climate – • Northern green energy, energy storage,retrofits • Global climate finance, • Technology fund/C-pricing, • Liability regimes for Arctic offshore and nuclear • Healthy Communities: • Infrastructure – adapting to climate change, & for First Nations; • Electric vehicles

22. Outlook • Members – increasingly engaged • Interest for new members • Budget 2014 – modest expectations, NCP hopeful • Budget 2015 – election budget, more opportunity;

23. Thanks!