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e-4201 (Taxation)

E-petition
Initiated by Chris Keefer from Toronto, Ontario

Original language of petition: English

Petition to the Government of Canada

Whereas:
  • The Government of Canada is making a generational investment by providing a 30% investment tax credit to eligible clean technology projects;
  • The tax credit currently excludes existing and new CANDU technology which underpins the entire operating Canadian nuclear supply chain and nuclear fleet;
  • Disadvantaging CANDU relative to other clean technologies limits climate action and the Canadian economy, which benefits from an unmatched economic multiplier effect of $1.40 in GDP for every dollar invested due to the 96% made-in-Canada CANDU supply chain;
  • The CANDU refurbishments at Bruce, Darlington and most likely Pickering Nuclear stations are vital to the preservation for a further 30-40 years of Canada’s second largest source of zero carbon;
  • Twenty-two CANDU reactors, 19 of which currently represent 15% of Canada’s total electricity generation, were commissioned in just over 20 years, proving that CANDU nuclear is a scalable, rapid, deep decarbonisation tool;
  • CANDU nuclear has been ranked as one of Canada’s top ten engineering achievements and has among the lowest lifecycle emissions of any energy source at 5gCO2/kWh, one half that of wind and solar.
  • CANDU nuclear provided 90% of the power to permanently remove coal from the Ontario grid, an achievement hailed as North America’s greatest greenhouse gas reduction; and
  • CANDU nuclear has a proven track record as a successful Canadian export, assisting partner countries in decreasing their reliance on fossil fuels.
We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to include CANDU nuclear refurbishments and CANDU new build projects within the Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit.

Response by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): The Honourable Chrystia Freeland

The Government of Canada recognizes the importance of accelerating action to fight climate change and the critical role that clean electricity will play in reaching Canada’s 2030 emissions reduction target of 40-45 percent below 2005 levels and net-zero emissions by 2050. To help Canada reach these ambitious targets, the Government of Canada has announced tax measures that would incent investments in clean sources of electricity, including nuclear energy.

Budget 2023 announced the government’s made-in-Canada plan, “Affordable Energy, Good Jobs, and a Growing Clean Economy,” that introduces the necessary tools to put Canada’s electricity on the path to achieve a net-zero electricity grid by 2035. A key part of this plan are proposed tax measures to support investments in sources of clean electricity, and the manufacturing of clean technologies. Underinvestment in Canada’s electrical grid today would risk the ability to power our economy and deliver cleaner and cheaper energy to Canadians. With electricity demand expected to double by 2050, investments in clean electricity will become more important than ever in achieving a sustainable, secure, and affordable grid to meet this increased demand. The government recognizes the important role that non-emitting sources of electricity generation, like nuclear energy, can play in achieving this objective.

In the 2022 Fall Economic Statement, the Government of Canada announced a 30 percent Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit, to enable and accelerate private sector clean electricity investment and help companies adopt clean technologies. This includes support for small modular nuclear reactors, an emerging new technology, that could support the decarbonization of provincial electricity grids and help remote communities transition away from diesel power. The Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit would be available to businesses investing in eligible property that is acquired and that becomes available for use on or after March 28, 2023. The tax credit will be phased out beginning in 2034, and no longer available starting in 2035.

In Budget 2023, the Government of Canada proposes to introduce a 15 percent, refundable Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit to incent the development of Canada’s clean electricity sector.

The Government of Canada understands the important role that publicly owned electric utilities and Indigenous communities play in the development of Canada’s clean electricity infrastructure through investments of their own. This is why the government has taken the exceptional step of extending the Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit to certain non-taxable entities. Tax support would also extend to proven technologies that offer predictable non-emitting base-load power, like large-scale nuclear, which could include CANDU reactors. These sources of generation will be required to facilitate the pace of investment needed to expand and achieve a net-zero electricity grid by 2035. The Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit will be available as of Budget Day 2024 for projects that did not begin construction before March 28, 2023. The tax credit will not be available after 2034.

Budget 2023 also proposes to introduce a refundable 30 percent Clean Technology Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit. The tax credit would be available to Canadian companies that are manufacturing or processing clean technologies and their precursors. Eligible investments would include new machinery and equipment used in the manufacturing of nuclear energy equipment, which could include CANDU reactors, as well as the processing or recycling of nuclear fuels and heavy water. The credit would apply to property that is acquired and becomes available for use on or after January 1, 2024, and would no longer be in effect after 2034, subject to a phase-out starting in 2032.

Budget 2021 first introduced the reduction of corporate income tax rates by half for qualifying zero-emission technology manufacturers. Budget 2023 proposes to extend eligibility for the reduced rates to include the manufacturing of nuclear energy equipment and the processing and recycling of nuclear fuels and heavy water, effective for taxation years beginning after 2023. The reduced tax rates were originally scheduled to expire beginning in 2032. To provide continued support for manufacturers building zero-emission technologies in Canada, Budget 2023 proposes to extend the availability of these reduced rates by another three years.

Open for signature
November 18, 2022, at 1:46 p.m. (EDT)
Closed for signature
January 17, 2023, at 1:46 p.m. (EDT)
Presented to the House of Commons
Arif Virani (Parkdale—High Park)
April 26, 2023 (Petition No. 441-01347)
Government response tabled
June 9, 2023
Photo - Arif Virani
Parkdale—High Park
Liberal Caucus
Ontario