Sustainable Finance Action Council - Seventh Plenary Meeting

July 4, 2023

The Sustainable Finance Action Council (SFAC) held its seventh meeting on July 4, 2023, in a virtual format. The agenda focused on the work of the Taxonomy Technical Expert Group (TEG) and the Net-Zero Capital Allocation Working Group (NZCAWG). Brief updates on the recent and forthcoming work of the Disclosure and Data TEGs were provided by the SFAC Chair. Finance Canada provided updates on work to consider SFAC advice on taxonomy and climate disclosure and noted that Deputy Ministers of Finance and Environment had a productive meeting with the SFAC NZCAWG co-leads in May 2023. Environment and Climate Change Canada provided an update on work to implement the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Members of the NZCAWG and PwC Canada, the SFAC’s consulting service provider, presented on initial findings and observations from project case studies that the NZCAWG had conducted within the heavy industry, buildings, power, transportation, agriculture, and resilience sectors. The NZCAWG will develop recommendations to the Government of Canada based on these case studies in the fall. A brief discussion took place on the importance of recommendations beyond subsidies and on additional actors that could be engaged.

The SFAC Chair and Taxonomy TEG lead provided updates on the recent and forthcoming work of the TEG and presented a draft Governance Manual for the SFAC’s recommended taxonomy governance model, highlighting key recent changes. SFAC members discussed the governance manual and next steps for engagement.

Participating organizations

• ATB Financial
• Aviva Canada
• BMO Financial Group
• British Columbia Investment Management Corporation
• Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
• Canada Life
• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board
• Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
• CWB Financial Group
• Desjardins Group
• Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan
• Intact Financial Corporation
• Manulife
• National Bank Financial
• Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS)
• Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan
• PSP Investments
• Royal Bank of Canada
• Scotiabank
• Sun Life
• TD Bank Group
• The Co-operators Group
• University Pension Plan
• Vancity

Also in attendance was the Official Sector Coordinating Group, made up of:

• Alberta Securities Commission
• Autorité des marchés financiers
• Bank of Canada
• British Columbia Financial Services Authority
• British Columbia Securities Commission
• Environment and Climate Change Canada
• Finance Canada
• Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario
• Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions
• Ontario Securities Commission

In addition, the Canada Infrastructure Bank, which participated in NZCAWG work, also attended the meeting.

Additional speakers

PwC Canada, a contracted external service provider, also attended the meeting and presented on the work of the NZCAWG.