- Update at July 2021 meeting on the Public Sector Accounting Board Letter to remove the exclusion of natural assets in municipal financial statements.
- Link to Final Letter
- Still opportunities for engaging with your finance leads to keep them informed of this effort. Can send them the final letter for their information.
- Joanna from INTACT will keep us up to date on outcomes of letter
At the May 2021 OCC meeting Joanna Eyquem from the Intact Centre shared an update on an advocacy effort they are leading to the Public Sector Accounting Board (PSAB) to ask them to remove the exclusion of natural assets in municipal financial statements. This would enable municipalities that are ready to reflect natural assets in their financial statements to do so, while not making this an obligation.
In addition, she provided an overview of the municipalities that have undertaken a valuation of their natural capital assets and why and how they did so and how it is being incorporated into their decision making.
- Natural assets and financial statements
- There is currently an active exclusion of natural assets in financial statements - this is likely because there is not at present one consistent/standardized methodology for undertaking natural capital valuations. However, there are recognized methodologies that municipalities are using to undertake their natural capital valuation. Delaying inclusion of those that are ready to include their natural capital will undermine the goal to bringing natural capital into municipal decision making.
- The PSAB advocacy effort focuses on asking them to remove the exclusion of natural asset valuation into municipal financial statements, so that municipalities that are ready to include them in the financial statement, can do so. It does not require any municipality to include it if they are not ready.
- Evaluation systems and putting a value on natural asset
- Different ways of valuing various services;
- Measuring the service replacement cost
- Hiring a professional working in this area would enable a municipality to undertake a natural capital valuation
- Key action items
- Continue these types of conversations on natural assets and financial statement between municipalities
- Reach out to your financial lead to share this effort with them to see if they would be interested in adding their endorsement of this letter. They just need to send Joanna an email letting her know that they would like to endorse the letter. This also presents an opportunity to chat with them about natural capital valuation within the municipality.
ITEMS FOR UPCOMING MEETINGS:
- The IESO is undertaking a Consultation on the Fossil Fuel Phase Out on Thursday May 27th at 1 pm. To be added to the email list for communications related to this engagement or to submit comments and inquiries, please email engagement@ieso.ca.
- Tracking of the MZOs will be a topic for a future OCC meeting: More info on planning changes is available here: Guide on Planning Changes/ Planning changes will be the topic of the June 10th at 3 pm OCC meeting
- Carbon budgeting
- Provincial changes and the impacts on the environment (i.e. environmental assessment act)
- Transportation- Sharing information on barriers + case studies in other municipalities
- The city of Toronto - staff report on benefits and changes from converting fleets to electric (city staff could come and present); as well as use of biodiesel
- There are efforts to increase alignment across programs (federal and FCM CEF)
- Aligning corporate energy planning with municipal targets: Resource: Municipal Corporate Energy Planning Guide: Outlines changes that are need within municipalities, carbon budgeting, bench marking and key strategies