Mr. Minister, the floor is yours.
Evidence of meeting #206 for Finance in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was important.
A video is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #206 for Finance in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was important.
A video is available from Parliament.
4:45 p.m.
Liberal
Bill Morneau Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
We are seeking to make sure that this project is one that can be done in the right way. The failed record of the previous government in getting resources to international markets must be considered here.
The approach that is being advocated implicitly, which is to take a decision absent a process that includes the people who want to be involved in that process, has led us—
4:45 p.m.
Conservative
Blake Richards Conservative Banff—Airdrie, AB
You have indicated that you will have all the information you need by June 18—
4:45 p.m.
Conservative
Blake Richards Conservative Banff—Airdrie, AB
—which gives you plenty of time before an election to make a decision. All I'm asking you to do is to commit to making that decision prior to that election.
4:45 p.m.
Conservative
Blake Richards Conservative Banff—Airdrie, AB
There's plenty of time, Minister. Would you make a decision before the election, yes or no?
4:45 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
Minister, you have time for a fairly quick answer here and then that round is over.
4:45 p.m.
Liberal
Bill Morneau Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
As I've said, we are looking to make sure that we do this in the right way. The right way means considering the approach that was presented to us by the court, which we are doing, and we look forward to the next steps.
4:45 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
Who's starting?
Ms. Rudd, you're splitting this round and then we'll have time for a five-minute round over here.
Go ahead, Ms. Rudd.
4:45 p.m.
Liberal
Kim Rudd Liberal Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON
Thank you, Chair.
Minister, I only have a short period of time so I want to ask you if you could talk about the measures for energy efficiency within the budget. Certainly, it has been identified by experts that energy efficiency is one of the best things we can do within the global plan to fight greenhouse gas emissions.
Coming from a rural riding, again the energy efficiency around saving money on energy allows people to put more money in their pockets. It also reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Can you talk a bit about it? In Ontario, of course, it was cancelled by the Ford government and I'm really happy to see us step forward.
4:45 p.m.
Liberal
Bill Morneau Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
Thank you.
There are a number of measures. Obviously, putting a price on pollution and giving a rebate back to citizens in Ontario and in three other provinces is important, so I think people will be very pleased when they get those rebates. The overwhelming majority of families—80% of families, plus—as the Parliamentary Budget Officer has reported as well, will be getting more back in the rebate than the price on pollution.
We also, though, recognize that we want to see the opportunity for energy retrofit issues that are going to be important for households, for municipalities, so we put money towards the Federation of Canadian Municipalities green approach towards funding infrastructure projects. That, we think, will allow people at the municipal level to retrofit buildings that will provide opportunities for green approaches to reconsidering infrastructure. We see that as important.
We've also put in place measures so people can get an advantage if they are buying zero-emission vehicles. People are out buying all-electric cars. There are a couple of them out around Parliament Hill today. It will help people to get into vehicles that will actually have less of an impact on the environment. We see that as important. That goes a little further because it also allows firms that are building fleets of cars to have an accelerated ability to depreciate those fleets if they are zero-emission vehicles.
There are multiple things to help move the dial. What we're clearly seeing is that Canadians are recognizing that the impacts of climate change are real and enormous. It's obvious in and around this region of Ottawa, or in Quebec. I was meeting with the Premier of New Brunswick this morning in New Brunswick. The devastating impacts of climate change are real and we're trying to take action to make an important, long-term difference.
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
Francesco Sorbara Liberal Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Minister.
Minister, yesterday we had the Bank of Canada governor come to committee. With that, we discussed many things including some of the information contained in the monetary policy report and with reference to the recent Ontario budget brought down by the Conservative Party of Ontario, which the Bank of Canada is now forecasting will negatively impact economic growth, not only in Ontario, obviously, but throughout Canada by 0.2% this year and flowing into 2020.
We've seen the cuts that the Conservatives in Ontario are undertaking to autism programs. This morning a $50-million program to help parents with day care costs was cut. They are not moving forward on infrastructure.
With regard to budgeting, it is important that we reassure our residents—and my residents back home in Vaughan—Woodbridge, specifically—that we as a government will continue to invest in those services that we provide and in those benefits for Canadians working hard, day in day out, to ensure a better future for not only my kids but all kids across Canada.
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
Bill Morneau Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
I wasn't here yesterday, obviously, to hear Governor Poloz with his comments, but I think what he was identifying was that when a government cuts back, as we're seeing happen in Ontario, it has a direct impact on the economy, which should not be a surprise to anyone.
Let's think back to the 2015 election when the Conservative Party and the New Democratic Party were both arguing for immediately balancing the budget. What they would have found was that they would be taking a lot of money out of the economy. In our estimation we should have been putting money into the economy.
It's no surprise that when you take money out of the economy, the economy contracts. We see those cuts in Ontario as cuts that are going to have a real impact on people, obviously, in myriad ways. Obviously, it will have a big impact on the students who won't have their student loans. For the travellers who won't have the ability to have health care provisions when they leave the country, that will have a real impact on them.
Our view is that we need to continue to be fiscally responsible, reducing our deficit and reducing our debt as a function of our economy over time. That's critically important, but we can do that while investing in people. We can do that while making sure that families are successful. We can do that while ensuring that our employment statistics and the real advantage of people being in jobs continues.
That balanced approach is our government's approach. Demonstrably it's working. We'll do that while we see places like Ontario make cuts.
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
We'll have to wrap it up there, Mr. Minister.
We'll go to Mr. Poilievre for five minutes, and we'll have room for a couple of single questions, one from Mr. Dusseault and one from this side.
Go ahead.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON
You have accepted timelines for building pipelines, just none of them in Canada. Through the Asian infrastructure bank there are three pipeline projects that Canadian tax dollars will fund because of your decisions. Those pipelines happen on a fixed time frame, yet you won't give us a time frame for when construction will begin on the Trans Mountain pipeline.
I have a simple question. On what date will construction begin for the Trans Mountain pipeline? What's the date?
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
Bill Morneau Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
The reason that the previous Conservative government failed to get any of our oil resources to international markets through pipelines—
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
—so our approach instead is to take the appropriate approach based on what the Federal Court has asked us to do—
