Honourable senators, governments across Canada have too often ignored our economic plumbing — the policies, rules, regulations and legislation that govern how our economy functions — and this has very much been the case in Ottawa. But no matter who you are, you can only ignore the plumbing for so long because eventually the toilets will back up. That’s the case today in Canada: Our economic toilets are starting to back up.

Now, you might not immediately recognize Bill S-3 as being a metaphorical plumber coming to our collective rescue, but that’s likely because its name does not inspire — well — anything. This bill is called Bill S-3, An Act to amend the Weights and Measures Act, the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act, the Weights and Measures Regulations and the Electricity and Gas Inspection Regulations. However, if you look a little closer, you can see why this bill is important.

This kind of legislation makes me incredibly happy because it means that bureaucrats — to continue with the metaphor — deep within the bowels of the federal government are actually worrying about our economic plumbing. Even more importantly, politically, it shows that this government has chosen to prioritize updating our economic plumbing. I expect that there are political staffers right now who do not share my enthusiasm. Simply, Bill S-3 shows that the government is serious about doing the hard work, the boring work and the non-political work necessary to get our economy back on track, but it certainly doesn’t qualify as an announceable.

To make my point as to why I think Bill S-3 is so important, I want to take you back to June 2022, when we were studying a government bill in the previous Parliament, Bill S-6. It has a catchier name: An Act respecting regulatory modernization. The Senate studied Bill S-6 three and a half years ago in 2022 to appreciate the degree to which our regulatory plumbing is backed up. The work, consultation and otherwise, underlying Bill S-6 started in late 2017. Bill S-6, despite being doted upon here in the Senate, wasn’t even considered in the House and then succumbed to a sad and lonely death upon prorogation.

However, it’s worth noting that during our study of Bill S-6 at the Banking Committee, we learned that Canada’s electric metering legislation was completely outdated and narrowly written to regulate only vertically integrated power utilities. In no way had it kept up with market developments and technology developments, like the advent of decentralized electricity grids or the large-scale sale of electric vehicles, or EVs. As a result, in Canada, EV charging stations could and can still only charge — sorry, there is a little dispensation I’ll speak about in a second — for the amount of time used, not the actual electricity delivered. Consequently, owners of cheaper, slower-charging EVs were subsidizing the electricity delivered to owners of faster-charging EVs because they could only be invoiced for the duration of the charging time, dollars per hour, and not the energy delivered, dollars per kilowatt hour.

Consequently, condo and rental property managers were disincentivized from installing EV charging stations in their buildings because they would not be compensated for the electricity. Regulatory inaction meant it didn’t make economic sense to install revenue-grade metering in private parking garages. Even more remarkably, that actually didn’t matter. Why? Because these highly accurate revenue-grade metres — made in Canada and used worldwide — did not meet Measurement Canada’s archaic regulatory specifications.

Despite not having the economic plumbing in place, the previous government still invested billions to increase adoption of EVs. It’s estimated that since 2016, more than $4 billion has been spent on EV and EV charging station subsidies. Despite these billions, our outdated regulations prevented market forces and private investment from taking hold. In the midst of our study in committee in 2022, the United Kingdom ended EV subsidies because that country had successfully created a mature, stand-alone market. Canada’s multibillion-dollar investments continued, though. A lesson for me is that any incentives need to align with regulation and procurement practices — or, perhaps even better, regulation and procurement practices should align with the subsidies — if we’re to catalyze market activity and minimize the need for future government expense.

There is some good news in this story, though. Eight months after our study, Measurement Canada issued a special dispensation that finally allowed excellent Canadian-made EV charging stations to bill by kilowatt hour, not just by hour. Perhaps this provides some evidence of the fact that our excellent and insightful debate in the Senate is valued.

This government has paused the EV incentive program. If and when it is restarted, I hope that it will be restructured in a manner that focuses on catalyzing market activity, not subsidizing it.

My primary message to colleagues in the chamber right now, but especially to those in committee who are studying Bill S-3, is the following: Certainly, look for ways to improve this bill, but additionally, let’s congratulate this government for prioritizing and updating Canada’s economic plumbing and encourage them to do much more. Let’s search for ways to keep moving on this topic. Let’s deliver the message to both political decision makers and the hundreds of thousands of public servants that Bill S-3 needs to be seen as the first, not the last, of our efforts to update Canada’s economic plumbing.

To this end, perhaps one approach that might help is to adjust the checklist that is used in Ottawa for identifying announceables. For example, maybe the first item on that checklist, long before any discussion about spending, should be to ensure the economic plumbing is updated and capable of converting proposed government spending into an investment that catalyzes sustained economic growth.

Just to reinforce how badly this change is needed, consider that Bill S-3 proposes amendments to the Weights and Measures Act. That act was last updated when I was in Grade 5. I’m now 66. The Electricity and Gas Inspection Act was last updated shortly after my first year at the University of Guelph, where some of you may recall the dean of agriculture invited me to revisit my commitment to my somewhat limited academic activities at the university.

Simply put, unless Bill S-3 becomes law, we will continue to be governed by a legislative framework that was designed for a market, environment and technology that, in far too many cases, no longer exist or are obsolete. We desperately need our legislative foundation to be updated. And it’s not just to finally move beyond the outdated analogue world and to embrace our digital reality, but also in so many other ways. Bill S-3 amendments will, without a doubt, help businesses in countless sectors. Here are some highlights.

First, temporary permission will be provided under the Weights and Measures Act for organizations to introduce emerging technologies into the market without delays while awaiting approval, so we’ll get some agility into this system. Sampling will be allowed as a means to independent devices under the Weights and Measures Act, thereby increasing efficiency in regulatory oversight. Exemptions from burdensome requirements will be created for small and seasonal businesses that sell electricity and natural gas under the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act. Preventive control plans will be allowed under both acts to help businesses identify and control hazards and prevent them from non-compliance activities. Various administrative requirements for businesses and other organizations will be repealed to lessen the burden and enable digital approaches for compliance.

This government has prioritized the updating of outdated legislation. I’m thrilled that they have prioritized economic plumbing that, for 55 years, has not kept up with the world around us. This legislation is far from alone.

I’m willing to bet that the minister’s office has political advisers who are still shaking their heads at such a boring piece of legislation being prioritized early in this government’s term. If I’m right, I hope they take the time to learn how to celebrate this really important work. It’s economic plumbing like this that costs nothing, yet helps to increase business investment and rebuild our productivity. What’s not to like?

Thank you, colleagues.