Flin Flon to Finance: A Sustainable Future Demands Action

Abstract: Gary Schwartz, CEO of the Canadian Lenders Association, calls for urgent action to implement Canada’s sustainable finance commitments, emphasizing that pledges alone are not enough. Reflecting on his personal journey from Zambia to Flin Flon, he highlights the escalating climate risks facing communities across the country. The CLA, representing diverse lenders across all financial sectors, is uniquely positioned to drive change—but success requires embedding sustainability beyond ESG offices into the core business strategies of banks and fintechs. As Canada Climate Week (CCWX) approaches, Schwartz urges public and private leaders to join us this November 24th to help build a national sustainable finance strategy to secure a resilient future.

When I first arrived in Canada at 15, I would travel north with my father to Flin Flon. I had just left the Zambian Copperbelt and found myself in Canada’s Greenstone Belt—two mining worlds, continents apart. We fished for pickerel in turquoise lakes, and it was there I began to understand this country—its land, its people, its quiet strength.

Flin Flon—birthplace of hockey legend Bobby Clarke and once a pillar of Canada’s resource economy—helped build this nation. Today, it stands eerily empty again, evacuated beneath the choking haze of another historic wildfire season. The same land that once symbolized prosperity is now a reminder of our growing climate vulnerability. What was once a frontier of opportunity now lies at the frontline of environmental crisis.

As climate risks escalate across the country, we need more than well-meaning pledges. We need concrete implementation.

At the Canadian Lenders Association, we recognize that we have a unique role to play. We represent lenders across all sectors of finance—from banks to fintechs, auto to home, small business to personal credit. Sustainable finance cannot be siloed in an ESG office or delegated solely to a Chief Sustainability Officer. To truly succeed, sustainability must become a core business mandate embedded across the lending and investment ecosystem.

That’s why the CLA is committed to working across and between sectors, ensuring that sustainable models are not just discussed—they’re adopted. This means collaborating with traditional institutions and challenger firms alike to align capital deployment with long-term environmental and economic resilience.

The good news is that Canada has laid the groundwork. Prime Minister Mark Carney—arguably the world’s most respected voice in sustainable finance—has committed to building a national taxonomy, implementing mandatory climate disclosures, and supporting transition finance strategies for our highest-emitting sectors. These are the right moves.

But as every lender knows: execution matters more than intention. A taxonomy that is too vague or voluntary will fail to guide capital. Disclosure rules that lack enforcement will fail to build market confidence. Without urgency, Canada will remain a follower, not a leader.

November marks Canada Climate Week, and with it, an opportunity to turn ambition into action. At our Sustainable Finance Summit on November 24th, we are calling on public and private sector leaders to align on three national priorities:

1. Advance a clear, enforceable taxonomy to define green and transition investment in Canada.
2. Implement mandatory climate disclosures, harmonized with global standards but rooted in Canadian realities.
3. Build a national sustainable finance strategy that places the financial sector at the centre of our climate response—not on the sidelines.

Join us this November. Let’s build a financial system that reflects the future we owe to each other.

Here are the 5 main points from the op-ed:

1. Implementation over Pledges: Canada must move beyond climate commitments and focus on executing clear, enforceable sustainable finance measures.
2. CLA’s Unique Role: The Canadian Lenders Association is uniquely positioned to drive sustainability across all lending sectors—banking, fintech, auto, SMB, and personal lending.
3. Sustainability as a Business Mandate: Sustainability must be embedded throughout organizations—not left solely to ESG or sustainability officers.
4. Urgent Policy Action Needed: Canada must advance a national taxonomy, implement mandatory climate disclosures, and create a unified sustainable finance strategy.
5. Call to Action for Climate Week: With Canada Climate Week in November, the CLA’s Sustainable Finance Summit (Nov 24) is a key opportunity to align public and private leaders on real climate finance solutions.

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