Thank you.
I'd like to start by saying that in one aspect, I agree with the intent of the amendment, but I'm unable to support it in the way it has been presented.
I'd begin by noting that the federal and provincial governments recognize, through their actions, the importance of regional and strategic assessments. This is why they are currently conducting a regional assessment for offshore wind in advance of a future call for bids for both the Canada-Newfoundland and the Canada-Nova Scotia offshore areas. This is why the regulators have conducted strategic environmental assessments in advance of a petroleum call for bids.
The real concern here is that this amendment, if accepted, would require that the comprehensive regional assessments currently being undertaken be redone. When we hear from the Conservatives about wanting certainty and clarity, this would completely undo any work and cause huge delays. That is a huge problem that goes well beyond the intent of the bill. The bill includes amendments that would provide the offshore regulators with the authority to conduct regional and strategic assessments prior to a call for bids, but these authorities aren't intended to be prescriptive, and it's unlikely that the provinces would support this action as presented in this motion.
I would also note, based on some comments we heard previously, that the Conservatives, under previous governments, have taken actions such as this, which created duplicative processes. They added red tape and increased the approval times in Newfoundland's offshore to 900 days. Our government has gotten that down to 90 days. It's not appropriate to reintroduce renewable energy-killing requirements that are already in place under other processes.
For those reasons, we're going to be opposing this amendment.