Close X
Monday, January 27, 2025
ADVT 
National

Canada's clean-tech sector struggling

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 15 Jul, 2020 06:33 PM
  • Canada's clean-tech sector struggling

Federal energy and environment officials were warned in late April that Canada's clean-tech sector was in danger as COVID-19 knocked the bottom out of the industry.

Three months later, a new policy tracker on energy investments made by G20 countries shows Ottawa and the provinces have put very little on the table to help clean-tech companies directly, while targeting fossil-fuel producers with more than $16 billion in aid.

Documents prepared for Natural Resources Canada deputy minister Christyne Tremblay ahead of an April 20 meeting, and obtained through an access to information request, say a recent survey showed revenues and jobs in the clean tech sector were both expected to fall more than 50 per cent this year.

With investments in research and development for clean tech disappearing rapidly, the documents say the industry warned it was facing a possible "extinction-level event."

The oil industry is also badly hurt by the pandemic, with global demand down drastically and oil prices falling to record lows in April.

This week, a new energy policy tracker released by a consortium of international environment organizations shows in Canada, of more than $16.3 billion invested by provincial and federal governments in the energy sector this year, $223 million has been earmarked for clean technology.

MORE National ARTICLES

C.D. Howe's Business Cycle Council says Canada has entered a recession

C.D. Howe's Business Cycle Council says Canada has entered a recession
Canada has officially entered a recession due to the economic devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the C.D. Howe Institute's Business Cycle Council declared Friday.

C.D. Howe's Business Cycle Council says Canada has entered a recession

Tiff Macklem new Bank of Canada governor

Tiff Macklem new Bank of Canada governor
Tiff Macklem, a former second-in-command at the Bank of Canada, is returning to the central bank to take over the top job at a moment that he says cries out for bold, unprecedented responses to the economic crisis fuelled by COVID-19. 

Tiff Macklem new Bank of Canada governor

Trudeau announces ban on 1,500 types of 'military-style' guns

Trudeau announces ban on 1,500 types of 'military-style' guns
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government is banning a range of assault-style guns, with an order that takes effect immediately. The cabinet order he described in a Friday-morning announcement doesn't forbid owning any of 1,500 "military-style" weapons and their variants but it does forbid them to be used and halts the trade in them

Trudeau announces ban on 1,500 types of 'military-style' guns

COVID in all regions of Canada as Nunavut sees 1st case

COVID in all regions of Canada as Nunavut sees 1st case
COVID-19 has now spread to every region in Canada, with Nunavut reporting its first case on Thursday, as Ontario reported its largest one-day climb in fatalities and the country's budget officer predicted a staggering $252-billion deficit. The case in northern Nunavut was identified in the 1,600-strong largely Inuit community of Pond Inlet on Baffin Island. The territory's chief public health officer, Dr. Michael Patterson, said a rapid response team was on its way to the community to help manage the situation.

COVID in all regions of Canada as Nunavut sees 1st case

Military identifies service members missing in deadly helicopter crash

Military identifies service members missing in deadly helicopter crash
The Canadian military is deploying a flight investigation team to look into the causes of a helicopter crash off the coast of Greece that has claimed the life of at least one service member and left five others missing. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed during a news conference that six people were aboard the Cyclone helicopter that went down in the Ionian Sea on Wednesday as the aircraft was returning to the Halifax-based frigate HMCS Fredericton from a NATO training mission.

Military identifies service members missing in deadly helicopter crash

Budget officer says federal deficit could top $252 billion

Budget officer says federal deficit could top $252 billion
Parliament's budget watchdog says that it's likely the federal deficit for the year will hit $252.1 billion as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and could go even higher if emergency measures remain in place longer than planned. The figure is an estimate based on the almost $146 billion in spending measures the government has announced to help cushion the economic blow from the pandemic, estimated declines in the country's gross domestic product, and the price of oil remaining well below previous expectations.

Budget officer says federal deficit could top $252 billion