Natural Resources Committee on May 28th, 2021

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, James Maloney]

Thanks, Mr. Cannings.

We go now to Mr. Lloyd for five minutes.

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Sturgeon River—Parkland, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Minister, the designation of plastic as a toxic substance threatens a significant number of jobs and a significant amount of investment in our country. Can you tell me, Minister, whether you have been hearing concerns from your provincial counterparts on this move?

[Seamus O'Regan, Liberal, St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL]

Thank you, Mr. Lloyd.

First of all, I'll state the obvious, that it's an ECCC issue, but yes, I've heard and read the same concerns. At the same time I think it's really important to note how important plastics are, particularly in this pandemic world that we live in.

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Sturgeon River—Parkland, AB]

What has industry been telling you about the threat to jobs and investment in our country, based on this move?

[Seamus O'Regan, Liberal, St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL]

That I have not heard about directly.

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Sturgeon River—Parkland, AB]

But have you heard about it indirectly?

[Seamus O'Regan, Liberal, St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL]

I have heard, I think probably, the same reports and the same media coverage that you have.

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Sturgeon River—Parkland, AB]

Are you aware that these companies are taking the government to court over this move?

[Seamus O'Regan, Liberal, St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL]

I am not but perhaps I can ask my deputy minister if he has any thoughts on the issue.

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Sturgeon River—Parkland, AB]

Before we go to that, Minister, what are you doing to advocate for the plastics industry in Canada?

[Seamus O'Regan, Liberal, St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL]

It's not within my bailiwick, but certainly—

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Sturgeon River—Parkland, AB]

You sit around the cabinet table when these decisions are made. I'm not asking you to divulge what you're saying in cabinet, but how are you, in high terms, advocating for this industry?

[Seamus O'Regan, Liberal, St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL]

I'm advocating for the industry by making sure that we have a low-emitting and competitive oil and gas industry.

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Sturgeon River—Parkland, AB]

Well, what does that have to do with the plastics industry in terms of emissions?

[Seamus O'Regan, Liberal, St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL]

Plastics are derived from oil.

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Sturgeon River—Parkland, AB]

Yes, and they're sequestered into the plastic product. Plastics are not a hugely emitting industry.

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

On a point of order, Mr. Chair, we're talking about plastics here. This is old—

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Sturgeon River—Parkland, AB]

I hope this doesn't take up my time here, Mr. Chair.

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

You can have your time. I don't mind at all.

This is completely for ECCC. The minister has his hands full with all of the sectors he's dealing with on his own, so the fact that you want to talk about plastics here and the plastics industry really has no relevance at all, I think, to the discussions and to having the Minister of Natural Resources here.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, James Maloney]

Thanks, Mr. Lefebvre.

Yes, Mr. Lloyd, I don't think you'll disagree that we're pretty flexible on how tightly we stick to the relevancy of questions relating to the supplementary estimates, but I think this one's a little far afield, so...

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Sturgeon River—Parkland, AB]

I hope this won't affect my time.

[The Chair, Liberal, James Maloney]

And I didn't take away from your time.

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Sturgeon River—Parkland, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I will say, in my defence, that the minister is the minister for the Canada Energy Regulator, which does deal with pipelines, which deal with transportation of natural gas for the production of plastics, so it is related.

[The Chair, Liberal, James Maloney]

That's wrong.