How Scandal Threatens Clean-Tech Innovation - The Sustainable Development Technology Canada fund has been mired in mismanagement and conflicts of interest.

The Sustainable Development Technology Canada fund has been mired in mismanagement and conflicts of interest. Peter McArthur, chair of the Ontario Clean Technology Industry Association, says clean tech could one day provide the solutions that help reduce the likelihood of forest fires, flooding or heat waves.

- By Mark Ramzy

It was once the driver of Canada’s nascent clean-technology industry, supported by Liberal and Conservatives alike.

Publicly funded but arms-length from government bureaucracy since 2001, Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) was a lifeline to entrepreneurs desperate to find money for their clean-tech innovations.

That was until a damaging mismanagement scandal rocked the agency and the House of Commons last year, forcing the Trudeau government on its heels and prompting it to launch a drastic overhaul of the fund.

Now, in the backdrop of the crisis, industry insiders worry the growth of a sector critical to Canada’s transition to a green economy is under threat.

“There are tons of jobs at stake, tons of fundamental business opportunities,” said Peter McArthur, chair of the Ontario Clean Technology Industry Association.

“That brilliant idea that’s coming out of a lab in Hamilton, in Edmonton, in Sherbrooke, is at risk of not seeing the light of day without this sort of funding. Maybe that solution is going to reduce the likelihood of those forest fires in Alberta and B.C., maybe it’s going to … help us go in a different direction regarding the flooding in Ontario and Quebec this year, or the heat that’s been so punitive to so many people.”

“This gives us a chance.” Here’s the story of how a once lauded federal fund became a punching bag for Justin Trudeau’s political rivals, and the uncertainty it faces going forward.

What is Sustainable Development Technology Canada?

Even while acknowledging it’s a cliché, industry experts who spoke to the Star say Canada has always punched above its weight when it comes to clean tech or products that help reduce the negative environmental impacts of using natural resources.