Add biomass to Clean Technology tax credit
Petitioners ask the House to include the proposed biomass component of the Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit in the 2025 Fall Budget to support forestry jobs. The government responds that it proposed expanding the Clean Technology and Clean Electricity investment tax credits to include waste biomass, consulted in 2024, but has not introduced legislation.
Why we would sign this petition
- It would fund biomass projects that could preserve and create forestry jobs in communities that have faced recent losses.
- It would help deploy electricity and heat systems using forest biomass, diversifying energy supply and supporting low‑carbon generation.
- Petitioners say aligning tax incentives with U.S. policy would reduce a competitive disadvantage and help the sector weather trade pressures.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Tax credits might encourage biomass use that raises sustainability or emissions concerns if not tightly defined and monitored.
- Expanding tax credits costs federal revenue and may divert funds from alternative job supports or wildfire and pest mitigation.
- The government has proposed but not legislated these expansions, so relying on future passage leaves outcomes uncertain.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to the House of Commons in Parliament assembled Canada’s forestry industry is a source of good jobs for rural and urban communities; The forestry industry has faced multiple challenges in recent years, including increasing wildfires and severe insect infestations, that have led to significant job losses; The U.S.-Canada softwood lumber dispute poses a serious economic threat to Canada’s forestry industry as well as the communities it supports; Forest biomass energy production has the potential to provide Canadian electrical grids with a sustainable source of energy while creating jobs for rural and urban communities; and Canada’s failure to implement biomass tax incentives has left our forestry sector at a competitive disadvantage compared to the U.S. We, the undersigned, Citizens and Residents of Canada, call upon the House of Commons in Parliament assembled to commit to the passage of the proposed biomass component of the Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit to support Canadian forestry jobs in the 2025 Fall Budget.
Government response
Response by the Minister of Finance and National Revenue Signed by The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne The 2023 Fall Economic Statement proposed to expand eligibility for the 30-percent Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit to include systems that produce electricity, heat, or both electricity and heat from waste biomass. This expansion would be available to businesses investing in eligible property that is acquired and becomes available for use on or after November 21, 2023. The 2023 Fall Economic Statement also proposed to expand eligibility for the 15-percent Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit to include systems that produce electricity or both electricity and heat from waste biomass. This expansion would generally be available to taxable and certain non-taxable businesses investing in eligible property that is acquired and becomes available for use on or after April 16, 2024. During the summer of 2024, the government conducted public consultations on the draft legislation for this expansion of eligibility under the Clean Technology and Clean Electricity investment tax credits. Legislative amendments for these expansions have not been introduced in Parliament. As the government sets its legislative agenda, it will determine how and when to deal with previously announced measures.