Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I won't take long. I don't want to go back over the list of all the impediments that my colleague just raised with respect to accountability around this issue.
This whole thing is kind of uncomfortable. We had Mr. DeMarco here to talk about some very uncomfortable things, including the willing buyer-willing seller contracts that we know absolutely nothing about.
I would remind everyone that the net zero accelerator has $8 billion in funding. Everyone here represents constituents who expect us to do our job, which is to hold the government to account for the money it spends. That is all the more true when the government boasts that it is one of the most progressive governments in the world on a particular issue. MPs in the House of Commons talk about how good we are, how Canada is a leader in the fight against climate change, how things are getting so much better on the greenhouse gas emissions front, how our investments are targeted and how everything is working. However, Mr. DeMarco told us last week that it really isn't working as well as people think despite all the money being spent.
I would like to remind everyone that, according to a report published by the International Monetary Fund, Canada invested $50 billion in the oil industry in 2022, both directly and indirectly. That really is a lot of money. That's $50 billion. I would remind everyone that the big five oil companies netted $200 billion in 2022. Even so, the government is pouring in more cash, and that's not even counting Trans Mountain, which ended up costing $35 billion even though it was originally supposed to cost around $7 billion, if I'm not mistaken. It cost about four times more than expected.
The Liberals can't be trusted to manage taxpayers' money in the fight against climate change. That has been clear for a long time.
People can listen to what we're saying. We are the people's representatives. I can't believe this. All we're asking for is accountability for the contracts that were signed. I cannot fathom why we're spending so much time discussing something that should go without saying. We are the people's representatives, and we have to be accountable to the people. People are worried about the fight against climate change. Eco-anxiety is everywhere. We're here, and we're asking ourselves this question.
I won't spend any more time on this. I really hope a vote will allow us to get to the bottom of things. This is the most basic part of our job. It's actually our raison d'être. We're here to hold the government to account.
Mr. DeMarco and his team have done an amazing job. We want to take this a step further. We want to find out more about what Mr. DeMarco couldn't tell us last time. I hope members will vote in favour of this motion. I hope my Liberal Party colleagues will see that doing so is essential. This is an important issue for democracy. We're here to represent our constituents, who are concerned about the fight against climate change. The government needs to be accountable.
That's what I wanted to say.