Debates of May 31st, 2010

Natural Resources--Main Estimates, 2010-11

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Madam Chair, the National Energy Board announced on May 12 that it will be reviewing all procedures related to drilling and exploration. In the United States the situation is quite different. President Obama has rebuked the Minerals Management Service for its partiality, while here, we have a completely independent, quasi-judicial board that has had an excellent record for the past 50 years. That is why we have confidence in the process established by the National Energy Board.

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Madam Chair, I hope that Canadians have the same confidence as the minister, but I am not convinced of that at the moment.

On May 3, the U.S. government unveiled the creation of a board to review offshore drilling safety and to tighten oversight of oil equipment testing. On May 27, President Obama ordered a number of changes to the regulatory process that are designed to ensure that offshore drilling is safer going forward.

Aside from the NEB plans to review Arctic safety, can he tell us of any other plans to improve safety and environmental protection from offshore oil and gas activity in Canada, including off the east coast?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Madam Chair, it was announced on May 12 that the National Energy Board, the organization in charge of Canadian regulations and project management, would review all procedures related to regulations.

I must add that on May 28, several additional measures were added to the robust regulatory oversight requirements already in place. I speak about the Canada-Newfoundland board.

The board has established a team to oversee the operation and will increase the frequency of its site inspections. Chevron is required to provide the board with ongoing reports on the safety mechanisms it has in place. Prior to penetrating any targets, Chevron must ensure that the board is satisfied that it is safe to proceed.

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Madam Chair, does the government have any plans to review its weakening, in December 2009, of our drilling and production regulations in light of the BP disaster continuing now in the Gulf of Mexico?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Madam Chair, let me be clear. The Obama administration has serious concerns about its regulatory agencies. This is not the case here. They have disbanded them and are proposing a new arm's-length regime similar to what we already have here in Canada. They have 30 times as many deepwater offshore wells currently in operation in the United States.

I am happy to see that the American government has suspended drilling while they determine the cause of the spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Our government expects our on-site regulators to be prudent and to take action to protect the safety of the environment and the workers.

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Madam Chair, the minister's government has claimed that this shift away from prescriptive regulations, from real, solid regulations, to a more goals-oriented approach resulted from advances in research into the causes of accidents in relation to injuries and spills.

In the U.S., the federal government is in charge when an oil spill occurs. Will the minister confirm whether the federal government here in Canada is now developing a contingency plan, including an emergency response plan, in the event of an offshore oil spill?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Madam Chair, that is completely untrue. Regulations are already in place. The Canada Oil and Gas Drilling and Production Regulations, under the Oil and Gas Operations Act, are very strict. A strict legal framework already exists. We know that operators are in charge of cleaning up after a spill. So, as I said earlier, the operators must provide a financial guarantee up front. They have to provide a contingency plan that contains a detailed description of the operations that would take place.

Let me be clear, if the board is not convinced that the project will both ensure the safety of workers and protect the environment, no projects will go ahead here in Canada. I would invite my colleague to consult the Canada Oil and Gas Drilling and Production Regulations. These plans have existed for a long time.

[Larry Bagnell, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Madam Chair, on May 26, in question period, the minister stated that no drilling permits had been issued for the Arctic or for the Beaufort Sea and that no projects will be undertaken unless and until the government is convinced that the environment and workers' safety will be protected.

Can the minister confirm that there are currently several companies bidding on new leases in the Arctic?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Madam Chair, allow me to clarify the situation. What we are saying is that there is no authorization for drilling.

There is no authorization to drill in the Beaufort Sea, nothing.

And in terms of arctic waters, the is no authorization for deep water drilling. That is the current state of affairs.

[Larry Bagnell, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Madam Chair, that was not the question. It was whether there are new companies bidding on new leases.

If he cannot answer that, try this one.

There appears to be an open call for bids for additional exploration licences in the north, including one in the deep offshore of the Beaufort Sea in a 205,946 hectare area named BSMD-5. This open call for bids has a closing date of July 6.

While it may true that there are currently no drilling permits issued for the Beaufort Sea, would the minister tell us if there are any plans to halt all new leasing activity in Canada's Arctic?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Madam Chair, there are currently no authorizations to drill exploratory wells in the Beaufort Sea. Drilling does not and will not occur unless the National Energy Board is satisfied that drilling plans are safe for workers and the environment, period.

[Larry Bagnell, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Madam Chair, that is the second question he could not answer.

Would the minister tell us when the companies that currently hold leases in the Arctic will begin their exploration activities, since their exploration leases stipulate that they must begin work within five years of the contract being awarded?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Madam Chair, as I stated earlier, there is no authorization to drill in the Beaufort Sea, and there is no authorization to drill in deep water in Arctic waters. This is the fact now. There is no project that will go on, unless this government and the energy board office are convinced that the safety of the workers and the protection of the environment will be ensured.

[Larry Bagnell, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Madam Chair, that is the third time the minister has not been able to answer a question about leases.

Does the minister agree with the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, which is asking for public hearings and consultations before seismic testing is allowed in the proposed marine park in Lancaster Sound?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Madam Chair, my colleague the Minister of the Environment announced that a project would be conducted in a safe manner. A marine mapping project will be carried out, as is done throughout Canada. Canadians can be proud of finally having a government that has made Arctic development a priority. Arctic sovereignty is important to all Canadians, and going ahead with marine mapping does not put marine protected areas in jeopardy. Let us not mix up the issues.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Madam Chair, does the Conservative government support the moratorium on offshore drilling and the 1972 Trudeau oil tanker ban on B.C. coast inland waters?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Madam Chair, there is a moratorium on drilling in the offshore area on the west coast and that will not change. Our government does not intend to review these provisions.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Madam Chair, on May 14, 2010, in question period, the minister responded to a question regarding tanker traffic off the west coast, stating:

[T]here is a tanker exclusion zone in British Columbia. No oil tankers are allowed in the inside passage. That is the way it is, and it will not change.

Is the minister suggesting, through that comment, that the 1988 tanker exclusion zone on the outside waters west of Haida Gwaii and Vancouver Island includes and is the same as the moratorium on oil tanker traffic on the inside waters east of the islands? In other words, it is the ban brought about by a Liberal government in 1972.

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Madam Chair, the tanker exclusion zone negotiated between Canada and the United States applies only to loaded oil tankers travelling southbound with Alaska crude oil. A voluntary tanker route measure is in place off the west coast of B.C.

However, under federal and provincial law, tankers are free to travel to and from Canadian ports, including in B.C.

The government has no plans to reopen the exclusion zone.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Madam Chair, the minister is just compounding the confusion caused by all the inaccurate answers he has given to these questions previously.

I would like to know whether this minister believes that the views of first nations who live along the pipeline route leading to Kitimat and the coastal route of the oil tankers that will take oil to customers in the east are important.

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Madam Chair, there is a joint review panel about the northern gateway project. This is the most severe way to make an environmental assessment, and the public will be heard. Let us have the process take its due course.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Madam Chair, is the minister aware that all the coastal first nations are standing together against this potential tanker traffic on the Pacific north coast that could do immeasurable damage to our ecosystems in north coast British Columbia--

[The Deputy Chair, NDP, Denise Savoie]

The hon. minister.

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Madam Chair, as I was saying, my colleague, the Minister of the Environment, announced the creation of a joint review panel when the project was still in its initial phases.

Now that the application has officially been filed, the joint review panel will examine the project and will consider any concerns that might be raised by the public or by first nations groups.

I repeat, this is the most severe way to make an environmental assessment. That shows that we are taking this process seriously.

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Madam Chair, I will share my time with the member for Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup.

I am happy to be able to address the House in committee of the whole. To start, I would like to give the committee a brief overview of some of the things that Natural Resources Canada has done to ensure that our country maintains and improves its status as a natural resources powerhouse.

I do not use the word “powerhouse” lightly. Our natural resources sector employs some 755,000 Canadians. In 2009 the sector contributed up to $70 billion to our trade balance and accounted for 11% of Canada's GDP, truly a cornerstone of our economy.

We want these massive contributions to our economy and quality of life to continue and grow. We will do that by working with the sector to create a sustainable resource advantage to make Canada a leader in clean energy sustainable resource development around the world.

An immediate priority is to deliver the key commitments of the second year of Canada's action plan. Our economic action plan includes significant investments in the energy and other resource sectors, investments that are generating jobs and economic activity today and setting the foundation for greater and cleaner prosperity in the long term.

The $795 million clean energy fund is one example. These funds are already being invested in clean energy technology projects, large and small, across Canada. This new fund is building on past investments, such as the eco-energy technology initiative, one of a suite of eco-energy initiatives we launched in 2007, with a total investment of $4.2 billion. These programs are increasing energy efficiency and supporting clean energy research, development and demonstration.

The economic action plan saw increased funding for our own retrofit program, helping an additional 300,000 Canadian homeowners make their homes more efficient, reducing emissions and energy costs.

Over two years, the economic action plan has provided $170 million in measures to help the struggling forestry sector and the workers and families who depend on it.

This amount is in addition to the $209 million in funding for the community adjustment fund used for forestry projects.

These are important measures, but there is much more to be done to help make our resource sectors more competitive. We want to be able to take advantage of the recovery and the return of the markets. We must ensure that our resource industries are ready today for the markets of the future. They must be ready to support fluctuating commodity prices. These industries are facing increasingly intense international competition, and must face complex environmental and social challenges.

All of that is vital. Success will depend more and more on the ability of the sector to combine good business practices and increased productivity with a clear demonstration of its leadership in terms of environmental protection and social responsibility.

To support the sector's response to this new model of competitiveness, Natural Resources Canada will focus on five key priorities: improving the performance of the regulatory system for major project reviews, which will help ensure that Canada is the best country in which to invest; enabling a competitive resource sector; increasing innovation in the forest sector and green mining to enhance market opportunities and create the jobs and economy of tomorrow; advancing the clean energy agenda in Canada through science, technology advancement and program investments; and advancing sustainable resource development in the north to help Canada realize the vast potential of the region's people and resources and managing nuclear issues to meet Canada's energy and environmental needs, while reducing costs and risks to taxpayers and positioning Canada's nuclear industry to prosper.

Clean energy is and must remain a major consideration. Canada can count on vast reserves of fossil fuels. The oil sands constitute the second largest proven reserves in the world, and are crucial to North America's energy security and to Canada's prosperity.

We have heard time and time again that oil will remain the world's main source of energy for decades to come. So we must recognize how lucky we are to have so much here in Canada.

However, we must produce and consume cleaner forms of this resource. With our partners—the provinces and the private sector—we will invest in technologies that could help considerably reduce the environmental impact of oil sands development.

There can be no doubt that Canada's abundance of energy resources gives us a tremendous economic advantage. The challenge is to make the most of this advantage in order to ensure that Canada becomes a clean energy superpower and a leader in the creation of new green jobs.

As stated in the Speech from the Throne, we will review our energy efficiency and emission reduction programs to ensure they are effective and delivering results for Canadians. To date, we are seeing great success from the eco-energy programs we launched in 2007.

Over a million Canadian homeowners have already reduced their emissions and their energy costs through the ecoenergy retrofit—homes program. Our ecoenergy for renewable power program worth $1.5 billion has given a real boost to Canada's renewable energy industry.

In 2009, nearly 1,000 megawatts of new wind power capacity came on line. There are now wind farms in every province, nearly 100 in total, and more are being built. We now have a capacity of nearly 3,500 megawatts of wind power, enough to power a million homes.

We are also seeing unprecedented success with integrated community energy systems. Natural Resources Canada designed and supported with several partners the Drake Landing Solar Community, a 52 home subdivision in Okotoks, Alberta. This community has recently become the first in the world to have 80% of its space heating needs met by solar thermal energy and it is on track to reach 90%.

Our $1.5 billion eco-energy for biofuels program is seeing similar success as new production capacity, new opportunities for farmers and new jobs for Canadians gear up across the country.

As part of our clean energy fund, we have supported 19 clean energy systems demonstration and pilot projects throughout Canada. These projects range from a small electricity network in New Brunswick to a wave energy development project on Vancouver Island. As part of the clean energy fund, we are also investing with private and public sector partners in large scale carbon capture and storage projects. This technology could reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by hundreds of millions of tonnes a year. One of the priorities of the U.S.-Canada clean energy dialogue has been greater co-operation to develop this technology.

I know I am quickly running out of time, so I will conclude with just a few words. Canada is a natural resources powerhouse. In all of the ways I have just outlined and many others, our government and NRCan are committed to delivering on our vision of improving the quality of life for Canadians by creating a sustainable resource advantage.