Federal Councillor Leuthard to pay a working visit to Canada
Bern, 27.09.2016 - Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard will be paying a working visit to Canada from 2 to 6 October 2016. She will be holding talks on energy and climate policy, as well as on various transport-related issues, with her Canadian counterpart in Ottawa. In addition, the head of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) will be visiting Montreal and Toronto in order to get an insight into how efforts in the above areas are progressing in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario.
The objective of this working visit is to strengthen cooperation between Switzerland and Canada. Federal Councillor Leuthard will commence her visit in Montreal, where she will meet with the Prime Minister of Quebec, Philippe Couillard. Her agenda includes a visit to Hydro Québec, one of the largest and most innovative hydropower companies in the world, as well as to CORIM, a leading platform for international know-how exchange. In Ottawa, Federal Councillor Leuthard will hold talks with Transport Minister Marc Garneau, Innovation Minister Navdeep Singh Bains and Jim Carr, Minister of Natural Resources, who is also responsible for energy issues. She will also be attending a cleantech event organised by the Canadian foreign affairs agency, Global Affairs Canada. In Toronto she will be holding talks with the Prime Minister of Ontario, Kathleen Wynne, as well as with Glenn Murray (Environment and Climate Minister of Ontario) and several other ministers. The head of DETEC will also be using her visit to Canada’s business capital as an opportunity to acquaint herself with the start-up promotion organisation, MaRS, which focuses on the cleantech sector, as well as with the regional transport agency, Metrolinx, and a variety of other entities.
The Canadian federal government is currently working together with the relevant provincial authorities to determine how to implement the climate protection objectives at the national level. Some provinces have already created the necessary framework conditions and introduced CO2 taxes or carbon pricing models. Quebec and the US State of California have jointly introduced a market for the trading of emissions certificates, and Ontario is to participate in this market with effect from 2017. The aim here is to use the anticipated revenue to promote innovation in green technologies. In addition, the electrification of public and private transport is to be expedited in certain urban areas of the country. These moves will also open up new market opportunities for Switzerland’s export industry.
During her visit to Canada, Federal Councillor Leuthard will be accompanied by a delegation comprising representatives from the business sector and the scientific community.
Address for enquiries
Annetta Bundi, Press and Information Service, DETEC. Phone +41 78 646 38 80
Publisher
General Secretariat of the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications; General Secretariat DETEC
https://www.uvek.admin.ch/uvek/en/home.html
Federal Office for the Environment FOEN
https://www.bafu.admin.ch/en
