Natural Resources Committee on April 6th, 2022

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Of course you have to have mitigation measures, among other things. It's almost called green oil.

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

No, I don't call it green oil.

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

By my standards, there is no such thing.

I will continue the discussion on the Bay du Nord oil project.

I will repeat a statement I made on this subject: “This is the first time [in Canada] that a well is going to be drilled at this depth. [...] In the event of a spill, it will take 18 to 36 days to bring in the equipment to plug the leak. [...] We're talking about millions of litres in the Atlantic.”

Are you comfortable taking that risk?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

As you know, the project was reviewed by what was then called the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency for four years.

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

This was done under a former law.

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

The project was reviewed under the old act, but it's important to keep in mind that since we came to power in 2015, the agency has started to incorporate a lot more on local risks and, in particular, the issue of climate change, even for projects that were assessed under the old regime.

We proposed to put in place an environmental assessment regime that allowed the process to be depoliticized, whereas under the Conservatives the whole process was political, including environmental assessment.

The agency made a recommendation last December. After studying this project for four years, it came to the conclusion that there were no significant environmental impacts. Of course, there is a series of conditions, more than 130, which are legally binding conditions. They are not wishful thinking, and they are not a wish list. These are conditions that the company must comply with or risk not being able to operate its project, if it is in breach of the law.

[The Chair, Liberal, John Aldag]

Thank you.

We'll go now right to Mr. Angus.

Go ahead for your first six minutes.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you to Mr. Wilkinson, who is like an old hand at our committee. It's nice having you back.

Mr. Guilbeault, this is your first time here. Welcome. I will talk to you, Mr. Guilbeault, because we have talked with Mr. Wilkinson a fair number of times. We hope we'll talk to him a lot more in the coming study. The national news is reporting this afternoon that your government is approving Bay du Nord?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

It is true that the national news is reporting that, yes.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Are you?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

No official announcement has been made yet.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

That's a one billion-barrel project, right?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

The company said it was between 300 million barrels and a billion.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Last week you approved 300,000 barrels a day to help Europe. Bay du Nord would be another 200,000 barrels a day. That's half a million barrels a day. I didn't read that in your climate plan. Where did this decision to start approving new projects like Bay du Nord come from?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Actually if you had read the climate plan attentively—

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

I did.

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

—you would have seen that the plan rests on a number of different data sources, including the last study from the Canada Energy Regulator, which forecasts an increase in production in Canada between now and—

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

So you are on side.... The Canada Energy Regulator is saying that we're going to get a million barrels a day. So that's what you're agreeing with—that that's where we're going?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

The question is not whether or not we agree or disagree with the Canada Energy Regulator. The question is, did we use the energy regulator as one of the data sources to prepare our emission reduction plan, and the answer to that question is yes.

Despite those growths in production, our plan clearly shows, to the satisfaction of a number of experts, and someone you may know, Andrew Weaver, IPCC scientist—

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

No, actually, I don't know him, but he did come here.

Anyway, what I'm interested in is the fact that under your plan of this billion-dollar project that may or may not be approved, in-between your plan and this big announcement that may be happening, the IPCC released their report this week. Did you read that report?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

I have the read the report, as I've read every single report since 1990.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

I'm glad, because they say it's now or never: that we're at the point of catastrophic, irreversible climate change. Would you agree with that assessment?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

I would agree with many things that the IPCC said this week, including the fact that countries need to present plans where they show emission reductions in every sector of their economy—

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

In three years—

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

That emissions have to peak and reduce and that's exactly what's happening—