SHORT TITLE

Marginal note:Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Greenhouse Gas Technology Investment Fund Act.

INTERPRETATION

Marginal note:Definitions

2. The following definitions apply in this Act.

Marginal note:“eligible contributor”

« participant admissible »

“eligible contributor” means a person who is subject to requirements — set out in regulations made under any Act of Parliament — respecting emissions of greenhouse gas from industrial sources, other than a person who is a vehicle manufacturer.

Marginal note:“Fund”

« Fonds »

“Fund” means the Greenhouse Gas Technology Investment Fund established in section 3.

Marginal note:“greenhouse gas”

« gaz à effet de serre »

“greenhouse gas” means any gas listed in Annex A to the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change done at Kyoto on December 11, 1997, as amended from time to time, to the extent that the amendments are binding on Canada.

Marginal note:“Minister”

« ministre »

“Minister” means the Minister of Natural Resources.

Marginal note:“vehicle”

« véhicule »

“vehicle” means any vehicle that is capable of being driven or drawn on roads by any means other than muscular power exclusively, but does not include any vehicle designed to run exclusively on rails.

GREENHOUSE GAS TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT FUND

Marginal note:Establishment

3. There is established in the accounts of Canada an account to be known as the Greenhouse Gas Technology Investment Fund.

Marginal note:Amounts to be credited to Fund

4. There shall be paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund and credited to the Fund

• (a) all amounts contributed to Her Majesty in right of Canada by an eligible contributor for the purpose of

  • (i) research into, or the development or demonstration of, technologies or processes intended to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases from industrial sources or to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere in the course of an industrial operation, or

  • (ii) creating elements of the infrastructure that are necessary to support research into, or the development or demonstration of, those technologies or processes; and

• (b) an amount representing interest of the balance from time to time to the credit of the account at the rate and calculated in the manner that the Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance, prescribe.

Marginal note:Amounts charged to Fund

5. There shall be charged to the Fund the amounts paid out under section 6.

GRANTS OR CONTRIBUTIONS

Marginal note:Power of Minister

• 6. (1) The Minister may, out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, make grants or contributions in any amount that he or she considers appropriate for any purpose referred to in paragraph 4(a).

• Marginal note:Matters to consider

  (2) In making a grant or contribution, the Minister shall consider

  • (a) the competitiveness and efficiency of industry;

  • (b) the sustainable development of Canada’s natural resources;

  • (c) the development of Canadian scientific and technological capabilities; and

  • (d) any recommendations made by the standing committee of the House of Commons that normally considers matters related to the environment.

• Marginal note:Limitation

  (3) No grant or contribution may be made in excess of the amount of the balance to the credit of the Fund.

ADVISORY BOARD

Marginal note:Appointment of members

• 7. (1) The Governor in Council shall appoint an advisory board of not more than 12 members to hold office during pleasure for a term of not more than three years, which term may be renewed for one or more further terms.

• Marginal note:Role

  (2) The role of the advisory board is to advise the Minister on any matter respecting the making of grants or contributions for any of the purposes referred to in paragraph 4(a), including the types of projects that are most likely to result in significant reductions of greenhouse gas emissions and the matters referred to in paragraphs 6(2)(a) to (d).

• Marginal note:Publication

  (3) The Minister shall publish the advice given under subsection (2) within 30 days after receiving it from the advisory board.

• Marginal note:Representation

  (4) The Governor in Council may appoint any person with relevant knowledge or expertise to the advisory board, including persons from industry, institutions of learning and environmental groups.

• Marginal note:Chairperson

  (5) The Minister shall appoint one of the members as Chairperson of the advisory board.

• Marginal note:Remuneration

  (6) The members of the advisory board are to be paid, in connection with their work for the advisory board, the remuneration that may be fixed by the Governor in Council.

• Marginal note:Travel, living and other expenses

  (7) The members of the advisory board are entitled to be reimbursed, in accordance with Treasury Board directives, the travel, living and other expenses incurred in connection with their work for the advisory board while absent from their ordinary place of residence.

• Marginal note:Meetings

  (8) The Chairperson may determine the times and places at which the advisory board will meet, but it must meet at least once a year.

• Marginal note:Accident compensation

  (9)  The members of the advisory board are deemed to be employees for the purposes of the Government Employees Compensation Act and to be employed in the federal public administration for the purposes of any regulations made under section 9 of the Aeronautics Act.

TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT UNITS

Marginal note:Creation

• 8. (1) Subject to subsections (2) to (5), the Minister must create technology investment units in respect of contributions made by eligible contributors to Her Majesty in right of Canada or to any fund designated by the Minister for the purposes of this subsection, for any of the purposes referred to in paragraph 4(a).

• Marginal note:Units to be recorded in database

  (2) The technology investment units are to be created in respect of a contribution by an eligible contributor in a manner that allows them to be recorded in a database established in relation to the emission requirements applicable to the eligible contributor.

• Marginal note:When creation of units may begin

  (3) Technology investment units may be created only in respect of contributions made on or after January 1, 2008.

• Marginal note:Regulations fixing contribution rate and number of units

  (4) Subject to subsection (5), the Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister of the Environment, make regulations

  • (a) fixing the amount that must be contributed for technology investment units to be created, or the manner of calculating that amount; and

  • (b) determining the maximum number of those units that may be created in any period specified in the regulations.

• Marginal note:Restriction on contribution rate

  (5) Until December 31, 2012, the maximum amount that may be contributed for a technology investment unit to be created may not be more than $15.

• Marginal note:Use of units

  (6) Technology investment units may only be used by the eligible contributor in respect of whom they were created and that eligible contributor may use them only in accordance with any regulations in force that govern the manner in which they may be used to meet requirements relating to emissions of greenhouse gases from industrial sources.