Joe Oliver

[BUSINESS OF SUPPLY, May 21st, 2013]

Mr. Chair, the fact that the NDP votes against carbon capture and storage is somewhat inexplicable, given their pretended concern about the environment.

In collaboration with partners, the government is also investing in clean technology through the funding of Sustainable Development Technology Canada, SDTC, which has leveraged significant money, and we have just announced an additional $325 million in funding for SDTC, signalling our commitment to energy and environmental innovation. New funding means that the government's total investment in the SDTC tech fund is $950 million to date.

[BUSINESS OF SUPPLY, May 21st, 2013]

Mr. Chair, the question shows a misunderstanding of where the money is allocated. We are devoting significant amounts of money to carbon capture and storage, and we are doing that in co-operation with companies, because that is the way to do it.

Our government is a world leader in carbon capture and storage. I was up at the Scotford upgrader project, where our government is investing some $120 million in a project in which the Government of Alberta is putting in $700 million, I believe. That will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by some 45%.

[BUSINESS OF SUPPLY, May 21st, 2013]

Mr. Chair, since 2006, our government has invested more than $10 billion in order to reduce emissions and protect our environment through investment in green infrastructure, energy efficiency, clean energy technologies and the production of cleaner energy and fuel.

[BUSINESS OF SUPPLY, May 21st, 2013]

Mr. Chair, the program, as I mentioned, is devoted to the issues that will create jobs and economic growth in Canada.

These investments increase our capacity to compete globally and create jobs for Canada. The investments—

[BUSINESS OF SUPPLY, May 21st, 2013]

Mr. Chair, I have answered the question a few times. However, as I said, I believe the total amount is $600,000. It is $16.5 million in total, but we are talking about advertising.

An amount is set aside for promoting the Keystone project in the United States. We launched the project because it will create jobs in Canada, as well as create economic activity and revenue so that governments can support social programs.

[BUSINESS OF SUPPLY, May 21st, 2013]

Mr. Chair, I will speak about the oil sands monitoring program that our government, in partnership with the Province of Alberta, has introduced. I am pleased to say that by the time the three-year plan is implemented in 2015, water monitoring sites will increase from 21 to over 40, air sites will increase from 21 to over 30, and biodiversity wildlife contaminant sampling will increase from 3 to 25.

[BUSINESS OF SUPPLY, May 21st, 2013]

Mr. Chair, the NDP would impose a job-crippling, $21-billion carbon tax that would increase costs to consumers, with no positive impact on the environment.

[BUSINESS OF SUPPLY, May 21st, 2013]

Mr. Chair, I have answered the question so many times, I am not going to answer it anymore.

What I would like to talk about is that those who keep denigrating Canada's record are just plain wrong, and they should know better. Canada has aligned its goals in greenhouse gas emissions with the United States and is calling for a 17% reduction by 2020.

Our government has invested more per capita than the U.S. on clean energy. That is an important point that is not well known.

[BUSINESS OF SUPPLY, May 21st, 2013]

Mr. Chair, I have answered the question repeatedly. I do not know what all this belief business is about. We have said that climate change is a pressing global problem, and we are acting to deal with it. The nature of our policy response is different from that of the opposition parties.

We believe that we can deal with climate change and environmental challenges and at the same time develop our resources in a responsible way. What is at stake here, on both issues, is a tremendous opportunity for the Canadian population to benefit from the development of our resources and for Canada to be a reliable source of energy for the entire world.

[BUSINESS OF SUPPLY, May 21st, 2013]

Mr. Chair, we are of a belief that a significant change in climate would be deleterious.