Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have a chance to be a part of this very important debate on the first night of the start of our fall session.
It is top of mind for many Canadians. It is a matter of considerable urgency and it is a matter of profound public interest. I want to commend the members of the Bloc who initiated the debate tonight and thank everyone for their participation.
Having listened to some of the government members, I have a hard time believing that they take this all that seriously. As a member of Parliament, I have a hard time believing that members on the government benches really know how much this impacts the lives of ordinary Canadians. We are not talking about some intellectual topic. We are not talking about some airy-fairy matter that does not impact the lives of people. We are talking about something that has a profound impact on the lives of Canadians and on their ability to meet the needs of their families and to continue to provide for themselves and their loved ones.
The increase in gas and oil prices over the last while is hurting Canadians. It is particularly hurting those who are the most vulnerable: low income Canadians, small businesses, truck drivers, rural postal carriers, people who depend on a vehicle for their livelihood. They are susceptible and vulnerable to the price of gas and they are put in an ever increasingly difficult position of making ends meet because of the increase in the price of oil and gas.
We are all feeling the impact. We are all hearing from constituents everywhere about the seriousness of this issue. I want to refer to one that I just received a couple of days ago from a constituent, Nancy Ursuliak, who writes:
As one of your constituents, I want to let you know that I am furious at the blatant profiteering that is driving the cost of gas and oil sky-high, and at the inaction of the Liberal government to rein in the greedy. I shudder to think of the plight of low- and fixed-income citizens as they try to keep warm this winter, of the elderly in areas where there is no efficient and affordable public transit as they try to get to medical appointments or simply do their shopping.
There are many others who are writing and asking us to take note and to take action. I have a hard time tonight hearing what plans the government has to meet the needs of those Canadians.
We have before us some suggestions from the Conservative opposition to reduce gas tax. We have recommendations from the members of the Bloc to look at a more meaningful rebate system. The bottom line is that there must be some relief for Canadians and there must be long term plans on the part of the government to deal with issues of transparency, accountability and sustainability.
We on this side of the House may not have leapt on board the Conservatives' call for the lowering of the gas tax. In fact, we are not sure that gets to the root of the problem, but we certainly are in favour of some relief for Canadians. We certainly want to see a rebate program that reaches out and meets the needs of Canadians who are most in need.
We all remember the last attempt by the Liberal government to provide such a rebate and its dismal failure because it did not take into account the full dimensions of the Canadian public. It did not fully address the needs of all Canadians. Particularly I recall the failure of the government to include students in its rebate program. Needless to say, it was not a satisfactory response to the crisis at the time. What we need now is a comprehensive approach to the concerns of Canadians.
Our first priority must be the pressures that Canadians are feeling right now, those who are suffering and trying to make ends meet. Our second priority must be accountability of the oil and gas corporations to the Canadian public and to this Parliament.
If one listened to the debate tonight, one would almost get the feeling, at least from the Conservatives and the Liberals, that the oil and gas companies have nothing to do with this, that in fact the huge increase in the price of gas at the pumps and the expected increase in terms of home heating fuel has nothing to do with the record profits of the oil and gas companies.
It is as if we can ignore the tripling of profits of oil and gas companies since Katrina. It is as if we can ignore the fact that gas and oil profits have leaped $12 billion a year since 2002. It is as if we can ignore that the estimated total profits for the oil and gas sector is approximately $52 billion. It is as if we can ignore the words of the Canadian Independent Petroleum Marketers Association that appeared before the industry committee this week. It pointed out in very clear terms to the parliamentarians on that committee that it was the way in which the industry was organized and the way in which profits were accumulated that had the most direct bearing on the situation facing Canadians today.
I want to quote from the brief presented to the industry committee last week by a representative of the Canadian Independent Petroleum Marketers Association, who said:
What are the causes of high gasoline prices? The crux of the problem is as follows. The global demand for oil is growing at an unprecedented rate. A very limited number of vertically integrated oil companies exercise total control over all aspects of the petroleum industry from the production of crude oil, to refining, to distributing, to wholesaling, and even to retailing the refined products to the final consumers.
This individual goes on to state:
What we are now faced with is an escalating problem that is affecting the global economy to such an extent that there is an urgent need to address the issues I have outlined.
The representative of the association goes on to suggest that we cannot ignore the way in which crude oil is increasing on a world basis. We cannot ignore the fact that we are reaching peak oil. This is something the government has failed to address.
This brings me to my second concern and that is efficiency. Unless we accept the fact that we are reaching peak oil in the country, unless we understand that we are approaching the end of availability of oil and gas resources in the country, we will be unable to grapple with the situation today of energy prices out of reach of consumers.
If there is one issue that the government has talked a lot about and failed to act on, it is the green car strategies with respect to Kyoto protocol and fuel efficiency. There has been a lot of talk, a lot of rhetoric, but no action.
Without a concerted plan to reduce our reliance on oil and gas resources and without a determined effort to switch to alternative sources of energy and to alternative transportation systems, there is no way in the world we can avoid the crisis that is looming. I refer again to a constituent who wrote to me only a couple of months ago. David MacVicar said:
As you may or may not know, we are near the global oil production peak...It also looks like North America has peaked in natural gas production as well. Both of these production peaks have enormous implications for Canada and the world. It will be a test to our way of life....
Our federal Liberal government has done nothing to address this issue. In fact, they have made the situation worse during their time in government. What we need is a government that isn't scared to stand up and say that Canada's economy cannot continue to grow and recommend other countries do the same.
Those words point all of us in a direction that must be considered tonight. How do we move to greater efficiency in this whole area? How do we ensure that we are ready for peak oil? How do we ensure that we have put in place a plan for long term sustainability?
Unless we deal with the impact on consumers today of oil and gas prices that are going through the roof, unless we deal with gouging by large oil and gas companies, unless we deal with the kind of profiteering that is going on, unless we deal with the need for alternative energy sources and mandatory fuel efficiencies, unless we deal with accountability by oil corporations to the government and to the people of Canada, we will be unable to achieve what all of us want, and that is for Canadians to pursue a decent quality of life—