Mr. Speaker, I and the member for Western Arctic work together on the natural resources committee. He has a lot of experience and knowledge around energy and energy challenges. I would not take too seriously what the minister said about his not supporting the main estimates of natural resources. As my colleague knows, that was not what was under debate. The debate was about $250,000 reduction in vote 10.
We know from experience that the minister does not read his notes. He does not read the order paper. I think he was just confused. Most people in the House would acknowledge the good work of the member for Western Arctic.
In terms of carbon capture and sequestration, we need a new model moving forward. We need the federal government to take some leadership on this issue. It needs to pull the various stakeholders together, the province of Alberta, the oil and gas industry, the aboriginal peoples, the municipal politicians from Fort McMurray and the people who have been interested in the water dilemma we face there. The government needs to sit these people at a table and tell them we cannot realistically proceed with further development of the oil sands unless we have a plan to deal with carbon capture, water recycling, the highest and best use of natural gas, the social and infrastructure problems at Fort McMurray and a host of other things. They have to sit down and work out a plan.
I submit that the $50 oil will be with us for some time to come. The bitumen will always be there. Why can we not work as intelligent, responsible, mature human beings instead of being concerned about walking on eggshells, that this would be seen as anti-Alberta or anti-the west?
I lived in western Canada for 12 years. I know what it is like living there. I have the greatest respect for what has been done so far in Fort McMurray, but we need to be responsible parliamentarians and responsible Canadians. We need a plan that will put money in the right hands, maybe the industry and the scientists, to accelerate the development and the deployment of these technologies, which are so urgently needed in that area.