Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. Senator Gold, last October in the context of worrisome reports on Canada Pension Plan’s investment in fossil fuel corporations in Colorado and Ireland going wrong, I asked the government whether it was acceptable that Canada’s largest asset owner kept undermining our international commitments and putting the retirement security of over 20 million Canadians at risk. I have yet to receive an answer to that question.

But last week we heard CPP was at it again. Hydro-Québec secured all necessary permits to supply Massachusetts with renewable hydro power for the next 20 years — a move that, according to the utility, will have the effect of taking 700,000 cars off the road every year. Calpine Corporation, one of the U.S.’s largest producers of electricity from gas and which stands to lose if the project goes forward, has been funding a hostile opposition and disinformation campaign against a new power line through Maine made necessary by the project. Again, the Canada Pension Plan has an important investment in Calpine and has its own representative on the board, therefore actively participating in opposing decarbonization efforts in Canada and abroad.

Senator Gold, what is the government doing to ensure the federally regulated financial sector finally addresses climate risk?

Senator Gold, nearly two years have passed since the Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance recommended that the government, “Clarify the scope of fiduciary duty in the context of climate change.”

When will the financial sector declare its climate risk to its investors and the public?