Catalyst

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NEW GOVERNMENT,
NEW DIALOGUE,
BETTER CHEMISTRY
By Pierre Gauthier
CANADA’S NEW LIBERAL majority government has arrived with an
ambitious agenda for the coming months and years. As it moves to
put new policies in place, especially with regard to the environment
and climate change, this government can count on the support of
the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada (CIAC).
The government’s agenda aligns well with the priorities of
the chemistry industry, which include a focus on innovation,
high-value manufacturing, research and development, sciencebased
policy-making and sustained emissions reductions. The
industry has been working for many years to advance in these
areas, and it has a great deal of knowledge and experience to
share. And, we are committed to working collaboratively with
this new government to develop sustainable and achievable
policy solutions.
As a $53-billion-dollar industry that converts raw natural
resources into high value goods, the chemistry industry is vitally
important to strengthening Canada’s economic growth and prosperity.
It employs more than 80,000 Canadians directly and
indirectly supports another 400,000 jobs in the economy. It also
provides products essential to other industrial sectors throughout
Canada’s manufacturing value chain. CIAC believes that, by
working with industry, the government can create the right kind
of policies to support this key industry on both economic and
environmental fronts. As the voice of one of the most important
advanced manufacturing sectors in Canada, CIAC can play a huge
part in helping the government fulfil its agenda.
On the environment, CIAC supports the need for environmental
standards that are realistic and science-based. Over the
past 30 years, CIAC and its members have established a strong
track record in progressive environmental stewardship. As early
as 1985, they committed to Responsible Care® and created an ethic,
principles and a suite of codes to ensure that chemistry products
are manufactured in an environmentally responsible manner.
Today, more than 60 countries around the world have adopted
Responsible Care as their own industry standard. Thanks largely
to the members of CIAC, Canada is positioned as a global leader
in the environmental stewardship of chemical products.
With this forward-looking sustainability initiative now marking
its third decade, CIAC members have managed to reduce
their carbon emissions by 35 per cent since 1992. They have
virtually eliminated discharges to water, while reducing toxic
substance 1 emissions by 90 per cent and sulphur dioxide emissions
by 87 per cent. These reductions have been achieved through
investments in new plants and technologies; changes in production
processes; energy conservation efforts; and the substitution
of lower-carbon fuels. And the efforts continue. For example,
NOVA Chemicals in Corunna, Ontario recently moved to lighter,
ethane-based feedstock and plans soon to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions by 25 per cent over 2010 levels. Responsible Care is a
Canadian sustainability success story and a model for the world.
With this kind of background, the chemistry industry strongly
believes that economic and environmental objectives can be creatively
intertwined in the development of public policies. We are
ready to roll up our sleeves and define a common set of objectives
and come up with a strong, practical policy framework that is
mutually beneficial to industry and government. However, there
are many unknowns associated with a change of government, and
clarity is needed in a number of policy areas, for example: rail
safety, reliability and service; research and development incentives;
the Chemicals Management Plan (CMP); natural resource
upgrading., and the need to bolster the competitiveness of the
chemistry industry and more broadly the manufacturing sector,
to attract investments that will strengthen productivity, innovation
and create jobs.
CIAC, as the voice of the chemistry industry, is well positioned
to facilitate an open and collaborative dialogue with a broad range
of stakeholders in the chemistry sector. The industry is poised for
growth in 2016 and beyond, and it can help the new government
to achieve an optimal balance between environmental sustainability
and economic driven growth and productivity.
We believe that industry and the government have the right
chemistry to work together to build a strong, sustainable chemistry
industry for the benefit of all Canadians, and we look forward to
entering into an open, collaborative, and productive dialogue.
Pierre Gauthier is Vice-President, Public Affairs for the Chemistry
Industry Association of Canada.
1 Toxic substances as defined by the Canadian
Environmental Protection Act (CEPA).
Catalyst WINTER 2016 • 9