Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I would like to correct two of the statements made by the member for Kingston and the Islands.
For one, he said that the NDP supports TransCanada's energy east pipeline project. We are waiting for the environmental assessment before deciding whether we support the project or not. We support the idea of a pipeline from west to east, but we have yet to come to a decision. I know what I am talking about because the project runs through my riding. We are taking a responsible stance: we need to wait at least until the project and environmental assessments have been tabled.
Second, he talked about union support. When I was elected, I was an economist for the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada. The study conducted by Infometrica, which mentions the 40,000 jobs, was commissioned by the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada.
I will begin my speech now, and I will be sharing my time with the member for Thunder Bay—Rainy River.
I am pleased to rise in the House to talk about a very important issue. There is a lot of talk about the 40,000 jobs. I am the official opposition's deputy critic for both international trade and finance. Financial issues are of particular concern to me. We need to broaden the debate beyond that one aspect.
There are a number of issues, including economic diversification and job creation, particularly in the petrochemical industry, although we often talk about refineries. Our friends on both sides of the House generally skirt the issues of the environment and sustainable development. However, they are an important part of the debate.
Let us talk about the environment. In my opinion, President Obama's position is extremely responsible. As a number of my colleagues have mentioned, President Obama is well aware of the jobs that will be created in the United States. His objection is based on the fact that the Conservative government, with various measures—including the gutting of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act—and considering its lack of planning with respect to fighting climate change and the effects of the hasty development of the oil sands on climate change, has no other choice but to be extremely prudent when analyzing the Keystone file and building the Keystone XL pipeline in the United States. President Obama's decision does not hinge on the 40,000 jobs so much as the lack of responsibility on the part of the federal Conservative government, which the Liberal Party of Canada seems to be backing.
The issue of climate change is clear: scientists agree that the current development of the oil sands does not represent sustainable development. That is a very serious problem because we have a golden opportunity to make good use of this resource, Canada's wealth, and to do so in a way that will benefit all Canadians. It would result in the transition from fossil fuels to renewable, green energy.
In that sense, the Conservative government is missing the mark, and the Liberal Party is absolutely blind to the repercussions of its unconditional support for the extension and development of the Keystone XL pipeline.
The environmental issue is important, as is the issue of sustainable development. In developing the oil sands, Canada has discovered a new way of creating energy by developing the oil and gas contained therein. However, setting aside the additional pollution created by a barrel of bitumen compared to a barrel of conventional oil, Canada has a major transportation problem, which is causing a backlog and a refining capacity problem.
Canada must develop infrastructure for transporting crude oil from the oil sands in order to sell and export it. Currently, we export it for processing because our facilities are inadequate. The Conservatives' reasoning is therefore as follows: first, they discover the potential of the oil sands and develop this resource as quickly as possible, which is far from the definition of sustainable development. After that, they remove the irritants blocking the development of this resource such as environmental laws, public consultations, aboriginal claims and international commitments. Then they realize that they do not have what they need to create the promised wealth.
Infrastructure is lacking both locally and nationwide. This causes the price of Canadian oil to drop in relation to American oil. The Americans are equipped to deal with this situation.
Therefore, when there is an oil glut, revenues go down. The government then decides to build the infrastructure. This makes no sense.
We have heard some very enlightening speeches in the House. In terms of sustainable development, we must really get away from the idea that any existing resources must be developed as quickly as possible and any perceived barriers must be removed. In fact, it takes solid environmental assessments or structures to ensure smart development.
The Conservatives are definitely headed in the wrong direction. The response of civil society and a large number of Canadians to their policies clearly reflects the government's lack of transparency and lack of vision concerning the responsible development of the oil sands, one of our richest resources.
This issue is extremely important to sustainable development, but as we know, the motion is specifically about economic diversification. Obviously, we condemn the fact that the project will end up creating jobs in the United States because processing will happen there. This is at a time when several refineries have closed their doors in Montreal, Alberta and across Canada.
We should not focus just on refineries because Canada's entire petrochemical industry is waning despite the assets we have. Many industries that produce petroleum products can no longer function. There is no support from the federal government. We are not talking about subsidies to help them stay open if they are having a hard time competing. However, there is a major problem when it comes to economic diversification because now the government wants to export crude oil to the United States.
I heard something interesting today. I was at a meeting of the Standing Committee on Finance, where the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance made some remarks not about oil but about raw logs being exported without being processed. There were some concerns about the fact that a lot of those raw logs are being sent to Asia. Some are being sent to the United States, but we have a reciprocity agreement with them. That is a problem, because we are not adding value to the resource before exporting it, which would benefit us more.
The same logic applies to the oil sands. They want to export the raw material, and they are not even asking how we might diversify our processing industries to add value to that resource before exporting it.
These are all reasons why the NDP's position has always been clear. Our position is responsible.
The Liberal Party leader's position is clear too, but it is far less responsible. In October 2013, which was not that long ago, he expressed his steadfast support for the Keystone XL project, saying that it would create lots of jobs in the United States and would be an excellent opportunity for the Americans.
The NDP's position, as stated by our leader, the hon. member for Outremont, is more responsible:
As a matter of priority, we should be bringing our petroleum products from west to east, always subject to a rigorous environmental review. [The Prime Minister] has completely gutted all environmental laws and environmental assessment legislation. With no credible, comprehensive process in place, the public cannot believe anything they are told about any projects.
That is a very responsible position. We are in favour of development from west to east. Some projects are being examined at this time. We are far less keen about some of them, such as the Enbridge plan, particularly regarding the use and reversal of line 9, which, we believe, poses a very serious risk to the environment. However, we remain very open-minded.
As the member for Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, I am very open to TransCanada's Energy East Pipeline project, which will go through Témiscouata in my riding. People are cautious right now; there is neither fierce opposition nor strong support. People want to know more. That is what a good environmental assessment process, an assessment of the environmental impact, can provide. That is what people want, but that is not what they are getting.
I invite the government members to use the motion currently before the House to really examine their conscience and think about whether their way of developing the oil sands is really the most responsible way for Canada.
I also invite my Liberal colleagues to examine their conscience, too, and decide whether they really want to jump on the Conservative bandwagon. I would be more than happy to take questions from my colleagues in the House.