Natural Resources Committee on Oct. 23rd, 2023

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

[Inaudible—Editor]

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

That's pretty damning right there, I would suggest, and I have the floor right now, Mr. Angus, so you can just wait.

There's another good report here that talks about—I hope I'll say this right—the Nepalese, people from the country of Nepal. I probably got that wrong.

It reads:

This summer Nepalese workers died at a rate of almost one a day in Qatar, many of them young men who had sudden heart attacks. The investigation found evidence to suggest that thousands of Nepalese, who make up the single largest group of labourers in Qatar, face exploitation and abuses that amount to modern-day slavery, as defined by the International Labour Organisation

That was from the buildup to the World Cup. There are multiple reports of abuses of human rights in that country in the buildup to it. There were many people who died in the buildup to that event, but as we look at who's providing energy for the world, it's going to be Qatar. Qatar is providing the LNG for the world, for Europe, for Asia. We have heard that LNG would be the preferred product to be able to get countries off coal. That would have a very substantive effect on reducing greenhouse gas emissions around the world, which I think is what the goal is overall, right?

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

It's supposed to be.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

It's supposed to be.

Right here we're talking about what Canada can do. Let's remember that Canada produces only 1.6% of global emissions, but Canadian LNG could help bring global emissions down. We hear so often that it's a global issue, that climate change knows no borders. We have the product and the solution that could be helping the world right here in our country, and we are told there is no business case.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

As well, 18 LNG proposals have been made in Canada—

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Yes, there were 18 LNG proposals—

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

—and not a single one is built or operating.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Not a single one has been built or is operating. There's one that might in a few years be able to put out some LNG, but there were 18 proposed, and not one of them is operational right now—

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Unbelievable.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

—after eight years.

I think it's important to note we could have been in a position to be able to do this if it would have been prioritized, but it definitely wasn't.

That's why I think this motion is important. It's a way for us to signal that the natural resources committee actually does care about resource development and that we do support what the private sector can do and should be doing in this country. I think we have a golden opportunity to send a signal here together as a committee that Canada does support LNG and that there is a case for it, and the House of Commons would recognize that. I think our committee should be taking this motion seriously and be looking to pass that along.

I touched on a few very important points, such as human rights, such as the moral case that Canadian energy can and should play around the world, but also there's the business case as well. We like to talk a lot about the social programs we have here in the country. One of the best ways to fund them is through development of our natural resource sector. We definitely know the benefits the oil and gas sector has provided to this country in terms of taxation and royalties so that people are able to have these valued social programs, both on a big scale and a small scale.

On a small scale, for example, an energy company, an oil and gas company, was sponsoring an event at one of the local curling clubs so that kids could have their curling fees paid so they could enjoy and learn a new sport. That's coming from an oil and gas company. It's just a small token item, but it's an important one. If we look at our community rinks, our community buildings, our schools, our hospitals, our long-term care centres, we see that some of the major funding partners are oil and gas companies.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Ninety per cent of Canadian oil and gas companies have fewer than 100 employees.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

A lot of them fit the small business model. That's exactly right, and a lot of them are non-unionized as well. I think it's important to note that while there are unionized employees, there are several businesses that aren't necessarily unionized, because there is that trickle-down effect because there are all the support businesses that go alongside of it.

I mean, yes, it's important to have these good-paying union jobs that we talk about, but not everybody works for a union. In fact, there have been some communities where upwards of 90% of the jobs in the industry aren't unionized, and they're still good-paying jobs with good value.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

The biggest [Inaudible—Editor] of unionized jobs right now is the expansion of the energy companies—

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

That's exactly right.

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

I have a point of order.

[The Chair, Liberal, George Chahal]

Go ahead, Mr. Angus, on a point of order.

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

We can't have two people speaking at the same time, so can she just stop, or are you going to give her the floor?

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

I have the floor.

[The Chair, Liberal, George Chahal]

Thank you—

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

I have the floor, Charlie.

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

She seems to have the floor.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

No, I have the floor.

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

Are you going to have two at the same time?

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Chair, if my colleague is worried about me, he'll tell me.

[The Chair, Liberal, George Chahal]

Colleagues, I'm going to ask everybody to respect each other. The individual has the floor. Let's not have others speaking. Whether it's your colleagues or whether it's other folks from across the floor, let the member who has the floor finish their remarks so that we can give other members an opportunity to move forward.

Mr. Patzer, the floors is yours. Are you concluding or are you still continuing?