Discussion · Government Orders
Elizabeth May Green
“Big promises from bankers about climate investing have produced nothing. Meanwhile, Canada has 800 billion dollars in its pension fund that the law says can only be invested for the highest return. I want the government to change this law so our pension money can go to local projects like schools and hospitals instead.”
“Mr. Speaker, I did, of course, notice the investment summit to which my hon. friend, the parliamentary secretary referred, and it is with a sense of déjà vu. The hon. member was not at the Glasgow climate negotiation in 2022, where the Prime Minister was basically the star of the show because he was the special climate envoy for climate finance to the UN Secretary-General. He announced the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, which he pegged at $128 trillion of available investment. Now, this may have a familiar ring to some of us here. Nothing is quite as ephemeral as bankers’ non-binding promises, so that $128 trillion announced as GFANS, as they actually made it an acronym instead of a website, is all that is left of it. The only thing that was net zero was the actual investment that emerged from the $128 trillion. Now, the question I have for my hon. colleague is a precise question: Why will the government not amend the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Act? We have real dollars, $800 billion of Canadian pension plan dollars, that right now, by law, can only be used and invested where it gets the best return on investment. To my hon. friend for Winnipeg North, I, in retirement, would like to look down the road at my investment in a local school or a local hospital and not where it went, that $200 million, because the investment board decided it would make more money in Grok developing AI and deepfakes.”
Mr. Speaker, I did, of course, notice the investment summit to which my hon. friend, the parliamentary secretary referred, and it is with a sense of déjà vu. The hon. member was not at the Glasgow climate negotiation in 2022, where the Prime Minister was basically the star of the show because he was the special climate envoy for climate finance to the UN Secretary-General. He announced the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, which he pegged at $128 trillion of available investment. Now, this may have a familiar ring to some of us here. Nothing is quite as ephemeral as bankers’ non-binding promises, so that $128 trillion announced as GFANS, as they actually made it an acronym instead of a website, is all that is left of it. The only thing that was net zero was the actual investment that emerged from the $128 trillion. Now, the question I have for my hon. colleague is a precise question: Why will the government not amend the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Act? We have real dollars, $800 billion of Canadian pension plan dollars, that right now, by law, can only be used and invested where it gets the best return on investment. To my hon. friend for Winnipeg North, I, in retirement, would like to look down the road at my investment in a local school or a local hospital and not where it went, that $200 million, because the investment board decided it would make more money in Grok developing AI and deepfakes.