Opening Statement to the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources

The Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy

Departmental Progress in Implementing Sustainable Development Strategies—Clean Energy

Lessons Learned from Canada’s Record on Sustainable Development

Jerry V. DeMarco
Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development

Madam Chair, thank you for this opportunity to discuss our 2024 reports on the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy, and on departmental progress in implementing sustainable development strategies focusing on clean energy, as well as our 2025 report on lessons learned from Canada’s record on sustainable development. I would like to acknowledge that this hearing is taking place on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe people. I am accompanied by Jessica Johnston and Francis Michaud, the directors who were responsible for the 2024 reports.

I will begin with our audit on Natural Resources Canada’s critical minerals strategy. The federal government allotted $3.8 billion over 8 years to increase the supply of responsibly and sustainably sourced minerals. Canada needs these resources to support green technologies such as electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines, and solar panels. Our audit focused on 2 of the strategy’s objectives: environmental protection and advancing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.

We found that the department did not do enough analysis to weigh the benefits of increasing Canada’s supply of critical minerals against the impacts this might have on the environment and Indigenous communities. Though these resources are critical for supporting the transition to a net‑zero economy, caution and proper planning are necessary to avoid adverse impacts on climate, water quality, biodiversity, and Indigenous communities.

Moving forward, Natural Resources Canada will have to fully assess risks and impacts of the strategy to help maximize benefits while minimizing adverse effects from increased mining activities. Otherwise, the benefits of advancing technology in support of the transition to net‑zero emissions could be offset by adverse effects on climate, biodiversity, Indigenous communities, and future generations. Effective risk management is also essential to help with acceptance of new mining projects, and to avoid possible delays and financial liabilities resulting from contaminated sites.

In our annual report on departmental progress in implementing sustainable development strategies we assessed the progress made by 4 departments in meeting 2 energy targets: generating 90% of Canada’s electricity from clean sources and reducing annual energy consumption by 600 petajoules. The 4 departments were Natural Resources Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Crown‑Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, and Indigenous Services Canada.

We found that results were limited, progress was slow, and most of the reporting by the departments failed to clearly show how their results contributed directly to the federal targets. This left the federal government without a clear picture of its progress on clean power generation and energy efficiency targets.

At the time of the audit, over 82% of electricity produced in Canada comes from renewable and non‑emitting sources while the 2030 target is 90%. This gap is significant and the gap for the energy efficiency target is even larger.

Generating cleaner power and improving energy efficiency are both key to reducing Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions and supporting the transition to a low carbon economy. Redoubling efforts to achieve these 2 targets by 2030 would demonstrate Canada’s leadership in the global fight against climate change.

Finally, the 2025 report on lessons learned, which is not an audit, looks back on over 30 years of federal sustainable development actions and outlines 6 lessons to help Canada improve its performance and build a better future. Each lesson concludes with critical questions for parliamentarians to consider.

Implementing sustainable development is proving to be an immense challenge in Canada. Despite setting national and international targets, Canada has made the least improvement among all G7 nations in meeting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

The report calls for a more integrated approach to sustainable development that incorporates social, economic, and environmental factors in decision making, policies and programs. Other lessons include the importance of stronger national leadership, a longer‑term approach that promotes intergenerational equity, and deeper collaboration—especially with Indigenous governments and peoples.

Madam Chair, this concludes my opening statement. We would be pleased to answer any questions the committee may have. Thank you.