When the motion is moved and we move forward with the study.
Another pressing issue that calls for our attention is this interprovincial crisis. Alberta's Bill 12, as you know, will give the Alberta government the authority to control oil and gas shipments out of the province. Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe said last week:
We do ship some energy products to British Columbia but not a huge amount. The majority of the energy products that are shipped to British Columbia come from Alberta,
but
What we're saying is if they (Alberta) turn off those taps, Saskatchewan won't be here to fill those (B.C.) fuel tanks.
The result is that Canadians and businesses are caught. They're at risk in the crossfire of interprovincial trade wars, of potential economic harm to themselves and to their families, and of increasing costs at a time when costs are already skyrocketing right across the board and families are struggling to make ends meet. Affordability is becoming a major issue for Canadians. They are now being caught in this escalating conflict between these provincial governments and are also at risk of threats to restrict energy supply between neighbouring provincial governments.
These provinces are linked geographically, economically, and intrinsically. Their residents are friends, families, and neighbours. They often have property, residences, or businesses in two or in all of the provinces, all together. Their views and their concerns about the Trans Mountain expansion are overwhelmingly that all the residents in all of those provinces support the expansion to go ahead. We, as legislators and members of this committee must support this motion and move forward with this study to fight for their interests, too, for all those innocent people caught in the middle, with neighbours, friends, and families pitted against each other and losing confidence in national unity in Canada.
Iain Black, President and CEO of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, said in response to this conflict, quote, “The B.C. NDP-Green coalition has created an impasse that is now challenging in the full view of the international investment community the very ability of our country to govern itself.” This conflict, of course, is the direct result of the stalled expansion. It's another major reason this committee should turn its full attention to this matter immediately.
Now governments, of course, are floating the concept of taxpayers financing or backstopping the Trans Mountain expansion. The suggestion is being made that the only way for the Trans Mountain expansion to proceed is either to subsidize it, to purchase a financial stake on behalf of taxpayers, or potentially to backstop it. That puts taxpayers at risk for billions, whereas Kinder Morgan was poised and committed, and has had to reinforce over and over that they are ready to go. They want to continue to proceed with the expansion. They just need political and legal certainty. They need the obstacles and the challenges to stop. They need leadership from political leaders who agree that this expansion is in the national interest.
It hasn't been required before. For example, the private sector has constructed pipelines successfully before, which were approved and constructed under the previous Conservative government, by investing billions of dollars in this crucial economic and energy transportation infrastructure. It has never been the case before that taxpayers would have to bear that risk in order for a pipeline to go in.
Again, the bottom line is that it doesn't address the uncertainty, the challenges, the ongoing obstacles, or the threats to limit the volume once the expansion is completed, if it ever does go ahead. It's a signal to private sector investment that even once they abide by the rules, meet the standards, and invest in doing everything asked of them in the most rigorous process and under the highest standards on earth, they may still not be able to proceed, even once cabinet has agreed with the recommendation by the independent regulator that a project is in the national interest.
I'm sure that all of us are chilled and alarmed by the precedent that might set and by the impact and the future consequences for private sector investment in the Canadian economy in the future. In fact, a professor from the University of Alberta, Laurie Adkin says, "I don't think the government owning the pipeline will get it out of its Constitutional responsibility, and it's going to make it even more difficult for the government to be seen as a neutral player".
Jack Mintz, from the University of Calgary's school of public policy says, "I don't think [the government's investing in the project] is a good idea at all,” and, “It really doesn't deal with the main issue. And the main issue is political uncertainty. What would be the value of the project given this uncertainty?"
That echoes all of the things that oil and gas proponents, businesses, investment firms, and banks are saying. This is about trust in Canada's systems, processes, procedures, and ability to succeed. The conversation around subsidizing or nationalizing a pipeline, as you can imagine, is very worrisome to Albertans who have gone through this before in our history but also to all Canadians, to all communities, and to the entire private sector right across the country. Again, it does not address what is clearly the problem as stated explicitly by the proponent and as seen repeatedly in the billions of dollars of losses of major energy projects throughout Canada, which is in fact legal and political uncertainty.
This is all happening in the wake of a vacuum around regulatory certainty between 2015 and when new legislation around the energy regulator was recently tabled, which oil and gas proponents and pipeline operators are warning will ensure that no new major oil and gas investments and no new major pipeline investments will be made in Canada in the future. Is it really any wonder that Kinder Morgan paused the expansion? The company says, “It’s become clear this particular investment may be untenable for a private party to undertake. The events of the last 10 days have confirmed those views”.
Before, they were never actually asking for tax dollars, financial equity, or financial backstopping. They were ready to go. They've met the requirements. They are complying with the conditions. They want to proceed on an expansion that is in the national interest and will benefit all Canadians in all communities.
It's our duty as legislators to figure out how we can solve these obstacles, stop these challenges, stop these roadblocks, and ensure that this crucial infrastructure can advance, because this pipeline expansion crisis is clearly urgent. It will of course benefit the Canadian economy, all provinces, municipalities, and indigenous communities. It will support energy investment in the future, which is crucial to all Canadians everywhere.
I thank you for granting me the respect and the time to make what I hope is a compelling, comprehensive, and thorough case to you. I really wanted to do that thoroughly and in good faith, with as much evidence and information as I could, to really compel each and every one of you as to why we should support this motion and proceed. I thank you for giving me the time to do that.