THE STANDING SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY, THE ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES
EVIDENCE
OTTAWA, Wednesday, June 25, 2025
The Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources met this day at 10:31 a.m. [ET], pursuant to rule 12-13 of the Rules of the Senate, to organize the activities of the committee.
[Translation]
Catherine Cuerrier, Clerk of the Committee: Honourable senators, good evening. My name is Catherine Cuerrier, and I am the clerk of your committee.
As clerk, I am responsible for presiding over the election of the chair. I am ready to receive a motion to that effect.
Senator Youance: I move that Senator Duncan be elected chair of the committee.
Ms. Cuerrier: Are there any other motions?
The Honourable Senator Youance moved:
That the Honourable Senator Duncan do take the chair of this committee.
Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Yes.
Ms. Cuerrier: I declare the motion carried. I invite the Honourable Senator Duncan to take the chair.
Hon. Senators: Hear, hear!
Senator Pat Duncan (Chair) in the chair.
[English]
The Chair: Thank you very much, fellow committee members, I appreciate it, and to the staff.
Good morning, everyone. We are now ready for the election of the deputy chair. I’m ready to receive a motion to that effect.
[Translation]
Senator Aucoin: I move that Senator Verner be deputy chair of the committee.
[English]
The Chair: Are there any other nominations?
The Honourable Senator Aucoin moved that the Honourable Senator Verner be deputy chair of this committee. Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: I declare the motion carried.
We now have a number of routine motions to adopt.
First, motion 3 creates the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure, known as the steering committee. For this session, it was agreed that all four parties and groups would have a representative on the steering committee, and the usual consultations about steering committee membership have taken place. Do I have a mover for this motion? Thank you, Senator Arnot.
The Honourable Senator Arnot has moved:
That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be composed of the chair, the deputy chair, the legislative deputy for the government as a non-voting member and two other members of the committee, to be designated after the usual consultations; and
That the subcommittee be empowered to make decisions on behalf of the committee with respect to its agenda, to invite witnesses, and to schedule hearings.
Is the motion carried, honourable senators?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: I declare the motion carried.
Motion 4 deals with publishing the committee’s proceedings. Do I have a mover for this motion? Thank you, Senator Wells.
The Honourable Senator Wells has moved:
That the committee publish its proceedings.
Is the motion carried?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: I declare the motion carried.
Motion 5 deals with the research staff. Is there a volunteer to propose the motion? Thank you, Senator Lewis.
The Honourable Senator Lewis has moved:
That the committee ask the Library of Parliament to assign analysts to the committee;
That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be authorized to retain the services of experts as may be required by the work of the committee; and
That the chair, on behalf of the committee, direct the research staff in the preparation of studies, analyses, summaries, and draft reports.
Is the motion carried?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: I declare the motion carried, and I invite the analysts to take a place at the table.
I would like to introduce the committee analysts. We have Jesse Good and Avalon Jennings.
Jesse Good has supported this committee since 2017 and brings expertise in climate and energy policy. He is also an ambassador for the Library of Parliament, helping connect parliamentarians and their staff with the research and information services available to support their work.
Avalon Jennings has worked at the Library of Parliament and has supported ENEV since August 2024. Previously, she has worked on priority projects in both the federal and Ontario public service. She has experience in the not-for-profit sector and first worked on the hill as a Parliamentary Intern. She has a bilingual Master of Public and International Affairs.
Would you like to say a few words?
Avalon Jennings, Analyst, Library of Parliament: I think you said it all for me. I’m happy to be back. I’m coming up on a year at the library and really enjoying it and working with you all. I’m looking forward to the upcoming session.
Jesse Good, Analyst, Library of Parliament: Thank you for the opportunity. It’s a pleasure to be amongst you all again and to meet some of you for the first time. I’m looking forward to working with you. As Senator Duncan mentioned, I’m also an ambassador for the Library of Parliament, which means I do outreach for parliamentarians, like yourself and your staff, to help connect them with the services of the library. If you ever have any questions about how the Library of Parliament operates and how we can help you in your work, please feel free to reach out for me. And, of course, for your committee work, Avalon and I are available for any requests that you may have.
The Chair: Thank you very much. I am looking forward to working with both of you.
Senator McCallum: I wanted to thank the analysts for the work they’ve done with us. They’ve done their job so extremely well. Thank you, and I’m glad you’re back here.
Ms. Jennings: Thank you.
The Chair: Thank you, Senator McCallum, appreciate it.
Motion 6 pertains to the authority to commit funds and certify accounts. Do I have a mover for that motion? Thank you, Senator Arnot.
The Honourable Senator Arnot has moved:
That, pursuant to section 6(1), Chapter 3:05 of the Senate Administrative Rules, authority to commit funds be conferred individually on the chair, the deputy chair, and the clerk of the committee;
That, pursuant to section 7(1), chapter 3:05 of the Senate Administrative Rules, authority for certifying accounts payable by the committee be conferred individually on the chair, the deputy chair, and the clerk of the committee; and
That, notwithstanding the foregoing, in cases related to consultants and personnel services, the authority to commit funds and certify accounts be conferred jointly on the chair and deputy chair.
Is the motion carried?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Motion 7 deals with travel. Is there anyone who would like to propose this motion? Thank you, Senator Youance.
Senator Youance moved:
That the committee empower the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure to designate, as required, one or more members of the committee and/or such staff as may be necessary to travel on assignment on behalf of the committee.
Is the motion carried?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Motion No. 8, designation of members travelling on committee business. Is there a volunteer to propose that motion? Thank you, Senator Kingston.
The Honourable Senator Kingston moved:
That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be authorized to:
1) determine whether any member of the committee is on “official business” for the purposes of paragraph 8(3)(a) of the Senators Attendance Policy, published in the Journals of the Senate on Wednesday, June 3, 1998; and
2) consider any member of the committee to be on “official business” if that member is: (a) attending an event or meeting related to the work of the committee; or (b) making a presentation related to the work of the committee; and
That the subcommittee report at the earliest opportunity any decisions taken with respect to the designation of members of the committee travelling on committee business.
Is the motion carried?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Motion 9 deals with the travelling and living expenses of witnesses. Do I have a proposer for this motion? Senator Kingston, thank you.
The Honourable Senator Kingston moved:
That, pursuant to the Senate guidelines for witness expenses, the committee may reimburse reasonable expenses related to the appearance of one witness per organization upon application, but that the chair be authorized to approve expenses of a second witness from the same organization should there be exceptional circumstances.
Is the motion carried?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Thank you, senators.
Motion 10 deals with communications. Is there a mover for this motion? Thank you, Senator Fridhandler.
The Honourable Senator Fridhandler moved:
That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be empowered to direct communications officer(s) assigned to the committee in the development of communications plans and products where appropriate and to request the services of the Senate Communications, Broadcasting and Publications Directorate for the purposes of the promotion of their work; and
That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be empowered to allow coverage by electronic media of the committee’s public proceedings with the least possible disruption of its proceedings, at its discretion.
Is the motion carried?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: I’d like to introduce the communications officer assigned to the committee, Monica Granados. Monica joined the Senate in late September 2024. She brings extensive experience in parliamentary affairs, media relations and government communications, along with a strong background in government relations from the private sector.
Colleagues, that brings us to the final item before adjournment, other business.
This is for information purposes. I want to share that the committee will meet every Tuesday from 6:30 to 8:30, and every Thursday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. in room B30 of the Senate of Canada Building.
Do any senators want to add to the committee proceedings this morning?
Senator McCallum: I do. We’re on other business, right?
The Chair: That’s correct.
Senator McCallum: In the work we do here, there can be a lot of conflict of interest. I’m talking about working with oil companies and people sitting on boards who become involved with businesses that are connected to projects we deal with. I asked last year if we could sign a declaration regarding conflicts of interest every time we attend meetings. Do you know why? It’s because I found out — after the fact — that there were a couple of senators who were very heavily involved.
The Chair: May I give some thought to that and have a discussion with the analysts? I ask because I’m curious as to why the existing conflict of interest and ethics code would not be applicable in that instance. I’d like to give your representation some thought and perhaps discuss past practice.
Senator McCallum: It relates to the work we do.
The Chair: Of course.
Senator McCallum: When I went to one resource extractive site, I was told that they look down on the Senate when they know this guy is actually profiting from the extractive company. It shocked me. I thought about it, and I thought, “It’s about the integrity of this committee, our personal integrity and the integrity of the Senate.”
The Chair: It absolutely is. I appreciate the point you’ve raised.
Senator McCallum: When people are aware of that, they think, “The Senate is like that.” So it angered me a bit. I did ask the former chair, but nothing came of it.
The Chair: I’d like to give it some thought and discussion.
Senator D. M. Wells: Senator McCallum makes a very good point not just for this committee but for many of the Senate committees. The usual practice is either to make a declaration of self-interest or a conflict of interest, either on the Senate floor or at the committee. I’d recommend that that practice be maintained rather than that there be a signature prior to any study.
The Chair: Perhaps a good idea would be to have a simple refresher at the beginning of our proceedings to remind everyone of that process.
Senator McCallum: That would be good.
The Chair: Is there any other business anyone would like to address?
I can’t say that I have specific insights as to what might be headed our way. We can all surmise that there may be some things on our agenda. I look forward to meeting with the steering committee and working with everyone on subjects that come before the committee. I’d like to thank everyone for their participation today, for getting together and for your support. I’m looking forward to the fall. If there are items that you feel the committee should be addressing or items that are of particular interest to you, please reach out and let me know.
Senator McCallum: We had items that we were waiting for. The next one was extreme weather events. That was supposed to be next in line, and the next one was water, with hydro in particular, and that was mine. I’m wondering if that order will be kept.
The Chair: The steering committee will look at those items when we get together and will examine what has previously been done, what was on the list and bring it forward for a discussion with the committee. Thank you for the reminder.
This brings us to the end of the meeting.
(The committee adjourned.)