Minister Hajdu and MP Jowhari highlight green and clean energy tax incentives from Budget 2023 with Richmond Hill businesses

RICHMOND HILL, ON, April 4, 2023 /CNW/ - Today Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services and MP for Thunder Bay—Superior North, alongside Majid Jowhari, MP for Richmond Hill, visited Edgecom Energy and Circuit Energy in Richmond Hill to highlight Budget 2023 investments and measures to help protect our environment and grow our economy.

Budget 2023 makes transformative investments to build Canada's clean economy, fight climate change and create new opportunities for Canadian businesses and workers. This includes significant measures that will deliver cleaner and more affordable energy, support investment in our communities, and create good-paying jobs.

The measures available through Budget 2023 include:

• The Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit: a 15 per cent refundable tax credit for eligible investments in non-emitting electricity generation systems, abated natural gas electricity-fired electricity generation, stationary electricity storage systems, and equipment for the transmission of electricity between provinces and territories.
• The Clean Technology Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit: a refundable tax credit equal to 30 per cent of the cost of investments in machinery and equipment used to manufacture or process key clean technologies, and extract, process, or recycle certain critical minerals essential to clean technology supply chains.
• The Clean Hydrogen Investment Tax Credit: Budget 2023 announces the details of the Clean Hydrogen Investment Tax Credit announced in the 2022 Fall Economic Statement, with the levels of support varying between 15 and 40 per cent of eligible project costs, with the projects that produce the cleanest hydrogen receiving the highest levels of support.
• The enhancement of the Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) Investment Tax Credit - CCUS is a suite of technologies that captures carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to either store the CO2 or to use it in other industrial processes, such as permanent mineralization in concrete. Budget 2023 proposes that the Investment Tax Credit for CCUS be expanded to cover additional equipment, and now be available for dedicated geological storage projects in British Columbia.
• The expansion of eligibility for the Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit - Budget 2023 proposes to expand eligibility for the refundable Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit to include eligible geothermal energy systems, further supporting the growth of Canada's burgeoning clean technology sector. This is in addition to the support announced in the 2022 Fall Economic Statement, through this credit, for investments in clean electricity generation and storage, low carbon heating and industrial zero-emission vehicles, including related charging or refuelling equipment.

By extending support to a broad base of clean electricity technologies and proponents, the investments needed to expand the capacity of Canada's clean electricity grid can be accelerated to ensure it delivers more sustainable, more secure, and more affordable electricity across the country.

Quotes

"Investing in green and clean technology is not only good for the environment, it's good for our economy. With new measures announced in Budget 2023 and building on previous budgets, the federal government is providing investment tax credits for businesses, manufacturers, and other partners that are helping reduce Canada's greenhouse gas emissions, working toward a net-zero future, and moving us into the economy of tomorrow. These credits will also be used to ensure that companies helping with the green transition are providing good paying jobs, meaning a win-win for everyone."

Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services, Minister responsible for FedNor, and MP for Thunder Bay—Superior North

"We cannot have a clean environment without a clean economy. That's why as part of our government's budget 2023, we are making historic investments in clean electricity, investment tax credits, low-cost strategic financing, and targeted investments and programming. These key investments will ensure that countless Businesses and Clean technology/energy Companies with their diverse pool of talents, such as Circuit Energy Inc. and Edgecom Energy in Richmond Hill, are not only equipped with the right tools and the opportunity to thrive but are also uniquely positioned to enhance sustainability and competitiveness through innovative solutions on a local and national level. This will have an immense contribution towards Canada's cleaner economy for future generations to come. It also means more economic prosperity, more middle-class jobs, and a greener and cleaner transition for Richmond Hill and across Canada."

MP Majid Jowhari, Member of Parliament for Richmond Hill 

Quick facts

Other proposed measures in Budget 2023 to strengthen Canada's clean economy include:

• Announced in Budget 2022, the Canada Growth Fund—a new $15 billion arm's-length, public investment vehicle—will help attract private capital to build Canada's clean economy. Budget 2023 announces that the government intends to introduce legislative amendments to enable the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) to manage the assets of the Canada Growth Fund to deliver on the Growth Fund's mandate of attracting private capital to invest in Canada's clean economy.
• One of the investment tools the Canada Growth Fund will provide to support clean growth projects is contracts for difference. These contracts can backstop the future price of, for example, carbon or hydrogen, providing predictability that helps to de-risk major projects that cut Canada's emissions.
• To drive investment and create new jobs, Budget 2021 reduced corporate income tax rates by half for zero-emission technology manufacturers. Budget 2023 proposes to extend the availability of these reduced rates by another three years and to extend eligibility for them to include the manufacturing of nuclear energy equipment and the processing and recycling of nuclear fuels and heavy water.
• Budget 2023 proposes to provide $500 million over ten years to the Strategic Innovation Fund to attract and spur high-quality business investments to support the development and application of clean technologies in Canada.

Related products

• Budget 2023: A Made-in-Canada Plan: Strong Middle Class, Affordable Economy, Healthy Future
• Budget 2023: Remarks by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
• Backgrounder: A Made-In-Canada Plan: Affordable Energy, Good Jobs, and a Growing Clean Economy

For questions related to Budget 2023, please contact the Department of Finance Canada at [email protected].

SOURCE Indigenous Services Canada

Media may contact: Zeus Eden, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Indigenous Services, [email protected]; Media Relations: Indigenous Services Canada, 819-953-1160, [email protected]