Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to my colleague for bringing this motion forward.
As a born and raised westerner from British Columbia, I have experienced the boom-and-bust cycles of commodity prices and their impact on small towns in rural Canada. I still remember, as a young lad, unloading hopper cars that were being sent from western Canada to the Prince Rupert grain terminal, or working in the pulp mill and shipping pulp and paper out to waiting vessels. The impact of declining commodity prices in the last two and a half years has obviously been heart-wrenching to those who moved to Alberta to work in Fort McMurray and other areas, and to those Albertans who have witnessed this experience in prior boom-and-bust cycles of commodity prices.
When we look at and go through what my colleague and other colleagues have produced in this report, the message we need to deliver here is that our government has not just stood around. Since we came to power, we have been running and we have been working. We have been helping out Alberta, and we have been helping out the citizens of Alberta. Our government has undertaken a number of actions that have improved the situation, that will improve the situation, and that will ultimately create jobs. That's what we're talking about: good middle-class jobs for Canadians, and for Albertans and people in western Canada. It's not only for them, but for firms across this country, because we know that when Alberta is going like gangbusters—and I think it is projected to lead economic growth in Canada this year, according to some of the reports I've read—it benefits all provinces, including my home province of Ontario, where firms supply materials to the oil patch.
When we look at what was in the report and how our government has responded within that, we can look at infrastructure. We've approved 127 projects worth $1.4 billion in federal funding since we took office, with 70% under way. With regard to the oil sector, we've approved a number of pipelines: the Enbridge Line 3 replacement, with approximately 7,000 jobs; the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, with nearly 16,000 jobs; the Nova gas pipeline expansion, approximately 3,000 jobs. As a supporter, personally, of Keystone XL, I will say that we obviously, as a party, continue to support Keystone. That would be the fourth leg.
Why is this important for Alberta? There are a number of reasons. For example, we want to diversify the export of commodities—in this case, oil and natural gas—to different markets. That's what the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline will allow.
What we also wish to do, which the prior government wasn't successful in doing, is to bring resources to tidewater. That's important for a number of reasons. First of all, we want to narrow that gap we received and that Alberta receives in their oil from Western Canadian Select versus the benchmark prices of WTI. Our government's initiative on the approvals of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and the Line 3 replacement is a step forward that will narrow that differential. The Alberta government and Alberta residents will receive a higher price for the oil they mine and produce, whether it's in situ oil or whether it's on the mining side.
It's very important. We know that our actions with regard to modernizing the National Energy Board so Canadians from coast to coast have confidence in it and in the processes that have been documented are another bonus for the province of Alberta, and that's what we see in terms of the approvals.
The process under Energy East will be going forward. Canadians and Albertans will know and understand that they can have full confidence that that process will be consultative. We'll look at all aspects and we'll balance the interests of both the economy and the environment.
Those are just a number of actions we've taken.
In terms of the plan we just announced with regard to imported drywall in Alberta, the Minister of Finance was in Alberta last week in the impacted areas where the forest fires occurred and announced that approximately $12 million in anti-dumping duties that were collected since September would be used to assist the Fort McMurray residents who are building their homes.
In addition, I noted nearly $1.4 billion in infrastructure projects. I do understand Alberta is in a situation with a number of projects that were built. Altalink had built a number of transmission lines in the Alberta area. Not only did Alberta and Albertans face declining commodity prices, but they were also facing a decline in the number of large construction projects that were nearing completion. The trades folks who needed jobs needed a turn. We answered, our government answered, with our infrastructure program. We invested and announced $78 million to the University of Calgary to accelerate over eight infrastructure projects to improve energy efficiency. We invested $2.3 million in Calgary in the FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Limited for upgrades to equipment and software.
Those are just some of the actions we took.
In our signature programs, including the Canada child benefit, which will benefit nine out of 10 families in Canada, there are a significant number of benefits. For example, just in October 2016, approximately $63 million went to the city of Calgary. The number of children benefiting in October 2016 from the Canada child benefit was nearly 200,000. The number of single seniors in Calgary who benefited from an increase in the guaranteed income supplement of nearly $1000 a year was approximately 14,000.
In investing in the affordable housing agreement with Alberta, nearly $100 million went to this agreement. I should note that support for shelters for victims of family violence received $6.1 million.
Mr. Chair, the actions that we've taken as a government have not been in isolation. Other folks have commented on it, including the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, and their comment was quite telling. Tim McMillan from CAPP said, “There is a balance between responsible oil production and the ability to reach climate targets. CAPP believes the two are connected and that they can be achieved together.”
From Calgary, the president and CEO of Calgary Economic Development said, “The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion supports the responsible production of energy for global customers and, among the considerable benefits for Canada, this crucial infrastructure project will provide a foundation for much-needed jobs in Alberta as we diversify the markets for our oil exports.”
Now, that's not me speaking. Those are folks that are on the ground. The Honourable Perrin Beatty said:
The government has taken a difficult decision, but one that is in the best interests of Canada. These pipelines will diversify our international energy markets, create much-needed jobs for Canadian families and benefit every region of the country. We have confidence that Kinder Morgan and Enbridge can work with government, communities and First Nations to ensure the highest standards of safety and environmental protection.
Mr. Chair, that's called leadership.
When we go over each of the recommendations made by my colleagues in terms of eliminating the proposed carbon tax, I look at what the Bank of Canada commented on a day or two ago about negative externalities and making sure we're pricing negative externalities. That's exactly what we're doing.
If I refer back to my graduate school days, using Coase's theorem, we need to ensure that negative externalities—e.g., pricing carbon pollution—are factored into the cost of doing business and also factored into our environment, into the health of Canada's citizens, the health of our global planet, to ensure that we do it in a responsible way.
We've done that.
We've implemented a price on carbon so that each province will get to decide how and where it chooses to use the funds. We've allowed them flexibility, which I think is prudent, on where they can invest it. They can cut taxes. In Alberta's case, I believe they've reduced the small business tax rate, and they've announced that.
That is responsible leadership, not only in Canada but, I believe, globally.
We've noted that over 60 high-profile business, labour, and environmental groups have commented that the government's plan for pricing carbon is the right plan to go with. These are diverse groups. They include Pierre Gratton, the CEO of the Mining Association; Steve Williams, the president and CEO of Suncor, a company I used to cover; the president and CEO of Cenovus Energy; and the president and Canada country chair of Shell Canada, Michael Crothers. These are all individuals who understand the oil and gas sector much better than I do, and they have commented that the direction we've taken on pricing carbon is the right one.
In terms of the recommendation on the mandatory increase to CPP contributions, our side views the CPP as an investment for Canadians not only today but for generations to come. The other side views it as a tax. These are two fundamentally opposite positions. I believe we're on the right side. The CPP is portable, inflation-adjusted, and truly what you would call a defined benefit program. It will be there for my kids and for future generations. As well, in a situation where a lot of firms are removing their defined benefit pension plans for various reasons, this fills a huge gap.
Recommendation two is with regard to the Government of Canada increasing support for job creation in Alberta’s oil and gas industry. I read that, and with regard to the NEB decisions, again, we've approved the Trans Mountain expansion. We've approved the Line 3 replacement. We're in support of the Keystone XL pipeline, leg four. The first three legs have actually already been built, and do you know what? That will benefit Alberta today, Alberta tomorrow, and all of Canada, particularly with the narrowing of the differential between WTI and WCS in increased oil production.
With regard to the fourth recommendation, which is that the Government of Canada provide immediate critical support to Alberta's families by investing in programs and partnerships to help local food banks respond to growing demand, reversing the scope of new mortgage rules, and providing increased mental health funding, it is with great pride that I look to and speak about the Canada child benefit. I've spoken about it several times in the House and here on committee in terms of the incremental spending and new investment in Canada's families, with approximately $4.5 billion going to low- and middle-income families. If a family is earning less than $150,000 to $200,000, they will average an increase of approximately $2,300 a year.
In terms of the mortgage rules, you've obviously talked about that quite a bit. I would say that we're looking at the mortgage market and the housing market in Canada to ensure that we have a stable market and that Canadians do not get in over their heads.
The fifth recommendation concerns reducing red tape and regulatory hurdles for new small businesses, the hiring of young folks, and tax credits and work-sharing programs.
We have doubled the funding for the Canada student jobs program. Happily, we'll be announcing that the next cycle of that will be occurring in a month or two. We are doing what's needed to make sure our youth are trained and also receive the experience they need to succeed in today's job market.
Recommendation six regards “immediate solutions to help Alberta's youth”. Well, I'm glad to say that in our budget 2016 we brought in a boost to Canada student grants of approximately 50%. We changed the rules so that no student has to pay back their student loan until they have a well-paying job. I think the level is approximately $25,000. We are also rolling out an increase in financial literacy across Canada.
Mr. Chair, and to my colleagues across the way, we are doing a number of things that answer a number of your recommendations and go further. On recommendation seven, in terms of long-term economic prosperity, reducing processes and unnecessary regulations, and removing trade barriers, I'm glad to say that we finalized CETA and brought that into place. We are working on continuing to remove interprovincial trade barriers. I think that's important. In terms of bilateral talks, we're also reaching out to Asian nations, whether it is Japan or other nations, to provide better access to foreign markets for Canadian firms.
We have also done this on the LNG front, approving two projects, I think, for LNG exportation. Now it's up to those private sector firms to make the decision on whether they want to proceed with those projects, looking at the cost of capital and their returns.
But you know what? We're taking the right steps to ensure that western Canada prospers and continues to prosper.
With regard to responsible infrastructure investments, I think we've committed to invest over $180 billion over 12 years. This is at a time when we can utilize the low interest rates that currently face us and invest in Canada to make sure we have the ability to move our goods, services, and people efficiently and that our exporters can get their products to market efficiently. This is the largest infrastructure investment that has ever taken place in Canadian history, and one that I argued for a long period of time was well needed and fills an infrastructure deficit left from prior governments.
Mr. Chair, how much time do I have left?