Debates of Nov. 7th, 2013

Opposition Motion—Keystone XL Pipeline

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

The time for questions and comments has expired. However, before we go to our next speaker, I have a casual reminder to all members. There have been a number of references across the floor. There are things that help keep our debate civil. For civil discourse in the chamber, I would remind members to direct their comments and speech to the Chair and to avoid the use of the word “you” in these cases because then the debate becomes a little more personal and has the impact in some cases of creating a certain amount of disorder in the House. I encourage all hon. members to observe some of those tools that help keep the debate civil and we will carry on.

Resuming debate, the hon. member for Calgary Centre.

[Joan Crockatt, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time today with the member for Prince George—Peace River. Thank you for the opportunity to join in this important debate on the motion by the hon. member for Burnaby—New Westminster.

I am very certain that all my hon. colleagues here know, if they are being honest with themselves, how important Canada's natural resources have been to our country's economy over the past century. Today we are standing on the brink of opportunities we have never seen before. Canada is about to embark on a series of megaprojects that really could cement our position as a global energy leader.

Over the next decade, several hundred major projects are planned or under way in the resources sector in Canada. These represent investments of over $650 billion. I know these are big numbers. That is what we are looking at. With over a million new jobs for Canadians.

No other country in the world has resource projects of this scale, creating a truly unparalleled opportunity, not only for investors but also for people who want jobs. These jobs are helping to create thousands of high-quality, well-paying jobs for Canadians in every sector of the economy, in every single province in this entire country.

That is why it is so incomprehensible that today the NDP is advancing this motion that defies rationality, that Keystone will cost us jobs. In fact, the absolute reverse is true. This pipeline is going to enable us to keep growing jobs. It is going to provide us with market access, access that because we do not have it right now, we are losing jobs.

As the government of a global trading nation, we recognize that we have this opportunity in front of us. Indeed, we have an obligation to grow and diversify our energy markets.

That is why over the last two years the Prime Minister and the Minister of Natural Resources have been travelling to the United States, to Asia, to Europe, driving home the message that Canada is open for business and that we are reliable and responsible, an environmentally responsible supplier of energy resources.

There are some clear facts here. Global demand for energy is going to continue to grow 35% from 2010 to 2035. Canada is one of the countries that has immense resources that could meet that demand, but we need to be able to get our resources to the market. Without that access to markets, our oil will be stranded. In that event, of course, our industry will not be developed. What would happen? Jobs that could be created will not be, and Canadians will have had their birthright squandered. That is what the NDP is proposing here.

New pipeline capacity is critical to move Canada's growing production to tidewater so that we can access those markets. However, energy market diversification is more than just about reaching new international markets. It is also about expanding our markets right here at home. This is about Canadian oil displacing expensive foreign oil that right now is being imported in eastern Canada, in Ontario, in Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

In fact, it is in Canada's national interest to see oil that is produced in Alberta and Saskatchewan travel by pipeline to eastern Canada. Let me explain why.

The U.S. has been buying Canadian crude at discounted prices compared to what it pays for the exact same quality of crude bought internationally. This is because Canada has insufficient pipeline capacity, as I mentioned. Therefore, there were very large discounts in 2012-13. What did that cost us as Canadians? It cost us $13 billion that we could have recouped if we had international market access. That $13 billion lost to Canada was a gain for the U.S.

Meanwhile, our own Canadian refineries and much of eastern Canada, which did not have access to that western Canadian oil, paid higher prices for the foreign feedstock that they had to import. A safe, reliable supply of Canadian domestic crude would make Canada less reliant on foreign oil and enhance our energy independence. In fact, when Quebeckers are asked would they rather be importing oil from Algeria or from Canada, their overwhelming response is that of course they would rather be getting it from Canada.

That means infrastructure, including pipelines, have to be built or repurposed, such as Line 9, to move these resources from the west to the east and overseas. We need the resulting jobs, the economic activity and the tax revenues that continue to fund our essential social programs, such as health care and education. That improves the quality of life of all Canadians.

It would also benefit Canada's sizeable refining industry, which already employs 15,000 Canadians and contributes more than $5 billion to our GDP. Take Sarnia, for example. This was the birthplace of Canada's oil industry more than 150 years ago. It has three refineries with the capacity of 281,000 barrels a day. From there, the refined product goes by pipeline, rail and truck to southwestern Ontario, to greater Toronto and to the U.S. These refineries are situated within a petrochemical complex that makes a broad range of products that market across Canada and the U.S.

Indeed, Canada already is a net exporter of refined petroleum products. We refine more oil right now than we consume. However, refining is a very tight margin business and many refineries have been closing, so the success of our refineries in Canada would be bolstered by a pipeline infrastructure that would deliver to them competitively priced crude from western Canada to make the fuel that we need for businesses, transportation and our daily lives.

In short, pipelines and the energy that they produce fuel our economy. They are also a safe, reliable and efficient way to move our oil products. That is irrefutable. Indeed, over 99.9999% of crude oil that is transported by federally regulated pipelines moves safely without incident. It is the safest way to move our product.

We must always strive to set that bar higher, so our government is introducing new measures to ensure that the system becomes even stronger. We are raising our environmental standards, which are already world class, by enhancing our pipeline safety regime. There are some important components of this plan. Oil and gas pipeline safety inspections have been increased 50% annually, from 100 to 150. Annual comprehensive audits of pipelines have been doubled from three to six.

To ensure pipeline companies have the strongest incentives to operate their facilities at the highest standards, we also intend to entrench in legislation their responsibility to pay for the consequences if there are ever any spills. Our government will propose legislation that will mandate companies that are operating major crude oil pipelines to demonstrate a minimal financial capacity of $1 billion so that they could respond to any incident and remedy damage. The proposed legislation also includes modern safety regulations for pipelines, such as improving transparency by ensuring that the companies' emergency and environmental plans are easily available to the public to look up and by ensuring that pipeline operators are responsible for abandoned pipelines. We are doing a very good job of this.

The government also believes that delivering North American crude to central and eastern Canada is important for our future. We support the opportunity for our refineries to process substantially more Canadian oil. This would support jobs, making our country less reliant on that offshore foreign oil.

Canadians need to recognize that if the NDP or the Liberals have their way and we delay or halt pipeline projects without scientific justification, our entire country will pay a very steep price. We will run the risk of stranded resources. We will lose the opportunity to utilize our birthright when there is a demand for it worldwide. We will get lower prices for the products that we do export. For Canadians, that means a weaker economy, fewer jobs and a lower standard of living. When we export oil and when we have access to international markets, everyone wins.

Let me be clear. The only pipeline proposal currently before review that would transport oil to eastern Canada is Line 9B. That is currently opposed by the NDP. That is right. In the NDP's ideological battle against jobs in the oil and gas sector, it is willing to allow 500 unionized refinery workers in Lévis to potentially lose their jobs. While it is clear the NDP will not support Canadian workers, our government will continue to support workers in Quebec and across Canada. Of course, we expect this from the NDP.

In closing, working together, we can help to assure this holds true for future generations. They can take advantage of the natural resources we have had bestowed upon us, but Canadians and parliamentarians must speak up and say yes to pipelines.

[Rosane Doré Lefebvre, NDP, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take another quick look at the motion being moved in the House, specifically that, in the opinion of the House, the Keystone XL pipeline is not in Canada’s best interest because it would intensify the export of unprocessed raw bitumen and would export more than 40,000 well-paying Canadian jobs. I would like to ask my colleague opposite a very straightforward question.

Does she support the idea of exporting our well-paying jobs and our raw resources, or does she support the idea of keeping well-paying jobs in Canada and protecting the environment?

[Joan Crockatt, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I welcome an opportunity to answer a question such as this because it displays a fundamental misunderstanding of where the jobs are being created.

The place where Canada can benefit is in producing our resources. There is a high amount of value added in the jobs that are producing them. The technology that is under way in the oil sands is absolutely phenomenal: the cracking, the coking, the steam floods, the SAGDs. There is a phenomenal amount of technology that is being used and that adds jobs with value.

In refining, the margins are very tight. There is very little opportunity for Canada to grow that part of the business. In fact, the NDP's own witnesses at the natural resources committee said there really is not much opportunity for Canada to grow its refining market. There is in the oil sands.

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I had the pleasure of visiting my hon. colleague's home town of Calgary two weeks ago, on the weekend before the weekend of the Conservative convention. I dare say that my weekend in Calgary was perhaps more pleasant than theirs, but I will let her debate that if she wishes.

One thing I heard a great deal about from people in Calgary is how there has been softness. We think of the Alberta economy as being very strong. There is a lot of strength to it and a lot of jobs created, but I heard about how there has been softness in the economy in Calgary over the past year or so. There has been a slowdown in the creation of jobs largely because of the lack of market access, the fact that it is getting harder to get the new oil that is produced to market, whether it is refined or upgraded in Alberta or not.

I would like the member to comment on that.

[Joan Crockatt, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the well-informed question. It is true that right now Canadians are being denied an opportunity to take advantage of selling our product because we do not have access to markets. Canadian companies are increasingly thinking about whether they should hang in with their investments in Canada or take their investments elsewhere where they can freely use them, for example, in the U.S. We just saw the layoffs of 20% of employees at Encana, one of our large natural gas producers, this week in Alberta. If people think this resource will go on forever, we can stick it in the vault, lock it up and take advantage of it later, they are in dreamland. Now is our moment. We must seize it.

[Bruce Hyer, Independent, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada exports twice as much oil as eastern Canada imports, and 80% of the imported oil is from Arabia and Venezuela, hardly very secure places to count on for the future. Even dumber, Canada exports at a 20% to 30% discount off world prices and imports the most expensive oil in the world, Brent Crude. My dad was an investment banker and he impressed upon me early to buy low and sell high. Do we get it?

Does the member care about energy security for Canada? Does she care about eastern Canada, and does she care about our oil policy where we buy high and sell low?

[Joan Crockatt, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I hope the member was listening to my speech because I addressed that very topic at some length. This is why we are in favour of pipelines, not only the Keystone pipeline but the gateway pipeline, the Kinder Morgan pipeline, Line 9, the west-east pipeline. Pipelines are an opportunity for us to share the resources and benefits that are all Canadians' birthrights. Why should eastern Canada be buying oil at world oil prices, much higher prices, from other countries in the world that are not secure, that are not our friends, when we have oil in our own soil that we could be utilizing? These pipelines are no-brainers. I would urge all members to get behind them.

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to address the motion from the hon. member for Burnaby—New Westminster.

I am pleased to state that our government has made significant progress in setting the stage for a much-needed expansion of Canada's energy infrastructure while enhancing safety and environmental protection.

It is also timely that the Governments of British Columbia and Alberta have made substantial progress in their pipeline discussions. I view this as a very constructive development, especially in relation to British Columbia.

Canada's advanced network of energy pipelines, now consisting of more than 73,000 kilometres of federally regulated pipelines criss-crossing this country, provide safe transportation for over $100 billion worth of oil, natural gas, and petroleum products every year. This figure alone underscores the great importance of pipelines to Canada. Pipelines are of major importance to our national economy and support tens of thousands of energy sector jobs throughout Canada.

Pipelines touch almost every Canadian. They transport the fuel that heats our homes and businesses, helps generate electricity, and powers our cars, trucks, and buses. In short, pipelines and the energy they deliver drive our economy and are essential to our standard of living in Canada.

On the practical questions of safety, efficiency, and reliability, the record is clear for pipelines in Canada. Over 99.999% of crude oil transported by federally regulated pipelines moves safely and without incident of any kind, which is an amazing record.

Even with this impressive safety record, our government is working at improvements by introducing new measures to ensure our safety system becomes even stronger. This ongoing goal is reflective of our government's unwavering commitment both to environmental protection and to safety in the energy sector.

Last year we announced our plan for responsible resource development. This plan would ensure that Canada's natural resources are developed in a way that would balance economic prosperity with environmental protection.

Enhancing pipeline safety is a significant component of this plan. Oil and gas pipeline inspections have increased by 50% annually, from 100 to 150. Annual comprehensive audits of pipelines have been doubled, from three to six.

To ensure that pipeline companies have the strongest incentive to operate their facilities with the highest standards of safety and environmental responsibility, we intend to entrench in legislation the responsibility for them to pay for the consequences of any spill—the polluter pays principle. Companies operating major pipelines would need to demonstrate a minimum financial capacity of $1 billion to clean up after any spill.

We have given the National Energy Board new authority to impose serious financial penalties on companies that do not comply with safety and environmental regulations: up to $25,000 a day for individuals and $100,000 a day for companies for as long as the infractions are not addressed.

For the first time, companies must have a senior officer responsible specifically for pipeline safety.

These are just a few of the improvements made by our Conservative government. As Canada's energy infrastructure expands west, east, and south, our next generation of pipelines will be built to the highest quality standards in the world.

The need for this expansion is pressing. Currently 99% of Canada's crude oil and 100% of natural gas exports go to the United States, but as we all know, our American neighbours are finding abundant resources of their own. This means that the U.S. would be relying less on Canadian energy imports into the future. It also means that new infrastructure, including pipelines, must be built in order to open up new international markets and to transport our energy resources to them.

As for practical challenges that this new economic activity entails, there is no question that Canadian crude, including heavy oil from the oil sands, can be carried by Canada's pipeline network with security and safety.

Canada's regulatory and safety regime for developing our natural resources has long been established as among the best in the world, but when it comes to protecting Canadians and our environment, there is no room for complacency. For that reason, our government has firmly stated that no project can proceed unless it is safe for Canadians and safe for the environment.

Building and operating safe pipelines is something that Canada has done for many decades. Few sectors can boast such an outstanding safety record. One of the chief characteristics of a strong safety regime is its ability to continually evolve and improve. As technology evolves and regulations are improved, safety standards are raised.

Last summer I announced that we are taking steps to ensure that we have a truly world-class pipeline safety regime in Canada. Under our new proposed measures, companies would be required to develop and implement a security and safety program that anticipates, prevents, and mitigates conditions that could adversely affect people, property, or the environment. They must prepare and apply an emergency management program focused on emergency preparedness and response requirements.

We will also ensure that companies operating pipelines have the financial capacity to respond to any incident and to remedy damage. To do so, the government will require major crude oil companies to have a minimum financial capacity of $1 billion. In this way, we are protecting the Canadian taxpayer from having to pay in the unlikely event of a spill. With these proposed measures, we will make existing and new pipelines in Canada safer than ever before.

Energy is a major Canadian resource, a key driver of Canada's national economy. Over the next 25 years, the oil sands alone could support more than 600,000 jobs, including new opportunities for aboriginal peoples. However, the benefits from our economic sector go beyond jobs and reach all Canadians. For example, the oil and gas industries generate about $22 billion a year in taxes and royalties to governments in Canada. That contributes to Canadian health care and other social programs.

The natural resource sectors already account for nearly 20% of all economic activity in Canada—a big number—as well as one-fifth of all economic activity, over half of our exports, 950,000 high-paying direct jobs, and a further 850,000 indirect jobs.

Canada has a tremendous opportunity to capitalize on natural resource development to further grow our economy. With the development of the Keystone XL pipeline and other necessary infrastructure, we are opening up the way for a new era of growth and prosperity for all Canadians.

Our government is balancing the need to develop our resources while protecting our environment. On the other hand, the NDP have decided to forgo almost 20% of the Canadian economy. Instead it attacks it at any chance it gets. The NDP has attacked our oil and gas industry, our nuclear sector, and our forestry sector. It has decided to take an extreme position that will not create jobs and economic growth for Canadians, but will instead sap our growth and harm our economy.

It is not just B.C. and Alberta that will suffer under the NDP. There are thousands of companies across Canada that benefit from the oil sands, especially Ontario's manufacturing heartland. Our government will stand firm and resist this anti-development, anti-trade stance and continue our work to create good, high-paying jobs for Canadians across this country.

[Marc-André Morin, NDP, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, surely my colleague across the way knows northern British Columbia and the Pacific coast. Can he tell us if there is a safe way for tankers to navigate between the British Columbia coast and the string of islands lying between the ports housing the terminals and Vancouver? Ocean currents reach a speed of 25 knots. There are many reefs and the channels are very narrow. These are the most dangerous waters in the world.

Is there a safe way to move these tankers, which take 4 kilometres to come to a complete stop?

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is an easy answer. There is a lot of tanker traffic that goes there every day right now, and it operates completely safely.

The Port of Vancouver is a great example of many tankers coming and going without incident every year. I think it is a misnomer that there are going to be incidents with increased traffic. That is just not the case. We can see many other ports across the world that have triple and quadruple the capacity of the actual traffic of Vancouver and have zero incidents.

We do not see it as a safety issue with the new regime we have in place and are putting in place. We think we have a good plan, and it is going to work.

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Mr. Speaker, in September of this year the Prime Minister told the Canadian American Business Council in New York that he would not take no for an answer on the Keystone XL project.

Could the member comment on the advisability of issuing ultimatums to our major trading partner, and how he expects that will positively affect the negotiations that will undoubtedly be necessary going forward?

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I was a member of many groups that have gone down to talk to our American counterparts just to encourage them. Most of them understand the benefit it presents to the American economy, just as it does to the Canadian economy. What could be a better source for oil and natural resources than a friendly neighbour to the north, as opposed to some other neighbours that are not so friendly?

In terms of the ultimatum, I think it shows that our Prime Minister is serious about our resources. After all, he is our number one defender in Canada in defending our resources on the world stage. I think it was a very good statement by the Prime Minister to the Americans to show how serious we are about our resource development. We will do what it takes to develop that resource.

[LaVar Payne, Conservative, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague from B.C. Our two provinces are working very well together to move forward in getting our oil out across the oceans, out into the whole environment across eastern Canada, and in developing the opportunity to get world prices for our oil. It is important.

One of the colleagues across the way talked about our captured market and the difference in prices of oil. Yes, we are getting a lower price.

I would like to ask my colleague from B.C., who I know is working hard with our province to make sure we can get those world prices, if he had any comment on that aspect.

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my illustrious colleague. We served on the agriculture committee for a few years, and I have gotten to know him well.

Absolutely, what we need for our Canadian resources, especially our oil, is a world price. Having a landlocked market does not serve our competitiveness as we need it to. Access to foreign markets on the east and west coasts as well to American markets to the south is an advantage that we need. In this new world where we trade with everybody, we really need to have access to all foreign markets to get the best price. Our people deserve that in Canada.

After all, the better the price is for Canadians, the more comes back to us in revenue to help out our social programs. It really benefits all Canadians.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Before we resume debate, I want to compliment all members who participated in the last two rounds of questions and comments on how judicious they were with their time. It allowed many more members to participate—well, not many more, but at least a few more, and that always helps in these kinds of debates.

Resuming debate, the hon. member for Brossard—La Prairie.

[Hoang Mai, NDP, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Parkdale—High Park.

I would like to thank my colleagues for their warm welcome. It is an honour to rise today to speak to the opposition motion. I am pleased to thank our colleague from Burnaby—New Westminster for his work on the energy file and on this issue in particular.

This motion is so important that I feel I must read it.

That, in the opinion of the House, the Keystone XL pipeline would intensify the export of unprocessed raw bitumen and would export more than 40,000 well-paying Canadian jobs, and is therefore not in Canada’s best interest.

The motion is about the Keystone XL pipeline.

I feel that this motion highlights the fact that there are different visions here in the House. The NDP is offering a vision of the future. On one hand, we have economic development; on the other hand, we have sustainable development, environmental protection and a number of social issues that must be taken into account when considering a project. I am very proud to talk about our vision today. I will attempt to show the contrast between our vision and that of the Conservatives and Liberals because, in this case, they are one and the same.

The Liberals and the Conservatives joined forces to back the Keystone XL project. They are on the same side on this issue, just as they are on many others.

What is Keystone XL really about? It is about transporting crude oil from the Alberta oil sands south through a pipeline to refineries in the United States. Then the United States can sell that oil back to us. That is it in a nutshell. That is the Conservatives' business plan and the Liberals' as well. We are talking 830,000 barrels a day. It is a huge project.

A project this size often creates jobs. In this case, we are talking about 40,000 jobs. Where do those numbers come from? They are based on a CEP estimate derived from a 2006 Informetrica report on exporting bitumen. The United States has talked about the possibility of 42,100 jobs.

Both the Conservatives and the Liberals are very proud to say that they will create jobs. However, when it turns out that those jobs will be created in the United States, I cannot figure out why the Conservatives are so proud of it, but they are. They go to the United States to meet with people in the American administration and tell them that they will create jobs that will benefit their country's economy.

I am from Brossard-La Prairie, which is not far from Hochelaga, where the Shell refinery closed its doors a few years ago. People lost their jobs. Nevertheless, instead of trying to create jobs in Canada, the Conservatives have decided to create jobs abroad. I understand why they say that our economy is based on natural resources and the oil sands. They want to develop those resources at all costs.

What we are saying is that we have to start with a vision. There is no vision on the other side of the House. We need a vision of what should be done to build a better Canada. We know that the oil sands are being developed and that Canada cannot stop using oil tomorrow. Even I travel by train or by car from time to time, and those modes of transportation use oil.

What we are suggesting is transporting oil from the west to refineries in the east so that we can create jobs.

Our vision is rather broad. We are saying that we want to create jobs, but create them here in Canada. Why fight to export 40,000 jobs to the United States?

The Conservatives, who are once again being helped by the Liberals, are very good at that, as we saw with Electrolux in Quebec. The Conservatives were very proud to say that they reduced the corporate tax rate. They congratulated themselves for it. However, as soon as their tax rate went down, those companies laid off their workers here and moved their production abroad.

Under the Conservatives, about 500,000 jobs have been lost in the manufacturing sector. I find that shocking. It shows they have no economic vision. That is no way to move the country forward. The Conservative vision, now supported by the Liberals, is to sell everything right away. The goal is to develop all that as quickly as possible and shift production to the United States. The Americans will do the work, get the added value, create jobs and refine the product. Then they can send it back to us, sell it back to us and open new markets.

The Conservatives and Liberals do not seem to care about that. They have a rather narrow vision of this kind of development.

We are talking about economic development, but in this case, the environment also matters. Why are the Conservatives hitting a wall in the United States right now? Why is the Obama administration giving the Conservatives a slap on the wrist? They have had no vision when it comes to the environment.

They say they want to push oil sands development to the limit, and in order to do so, they want to ignore all the rules we have in place to protect the environment. This was all set out in the omnibus bills that the government so proudly introduced, which were clearly problematic.

In closing, I would like to say that I am very proud of this motion, because our vision is much broader and more focused on the future, while the Liberals and Conservatives remain very narrow-minded and have no vision of the future.

[Leon Benoit, Conservative, Vegreville—Wainwright, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I just want to thank the member opposite for his presentation. However, much of his presentation dealt with a belief that the Keystone XL pipeline could have a negative impact on the environment. The science shows clearly that this is simply not the truth.

I wonder why the member is ignoring studies such as one done by a well-respected firm, IHS CERA, which did an independent study, the latest that I know of, that confirmed once again that the Keystone XL pipeline, “...will have no...impact on...GHGs”. The opposition members go there talking about how Keystone will have a negative impact on the environment, and in fact, study after study, the science, shows that it will not.

I wonder why that party will not put aside its blind ideology against development, and in particular, against development in the oil sands. It continues to spew untruths about the science and the reality of the situation involving Keystone and the environment.

[Hoang Mai, NDP, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, first, it is clear that the current government has gutted environmental protection with its omnibus bills.

Our motion is about creating jobs, not creating jobs in the U.S. We are talking about 3,000 jobs created in the U.S. Our vision is creating jobs here in Canada. That is why we put forward this motion. We hope the Conservatives will support our motion, because we are talking about creating jobs here in Canada and not exporting good jobs. Why have that vision?

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Mr. Speaker, I just want to follow up on my colleague's comments indicating that this was about Canadian jobs.

I am sure he has heard of the Canadian building trades. The Canadian building trades said this morning that almost two-thirds of the bitumen will be upgraded in Canadian facilities by skilled trades workers.

Is this really about jobs, or is this about what we hear from the candidate in Toronto Centre? Is this really about the New Democratic Party standing in favour of a moratorium on oil sands development? Do the New Democrats disagree with the building trades, or is it about a moratorium?

[Hoang Mai, NDP, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is funny that the Liberals are raising the Toronto Centre by-elections, because from what I have heard, their candidates do not want a debate. They do not want to talk about issues. They do not have any ideas.

Yesterday we heard from their leader that they were for Keystone, but they did not know how they would go ahead with protecting the environment and are looking into that. They have a party that says that it wants to defend the environment, but they have no clue. They do have a clue. In 2008 it was one way; it was a carbon tax. In 2011 it was cap and trade. They followed what we did. Now they do not know. They got lost. They are trying to figure it out. Maybe it is because of their leader's vision for protecting the environment. That is what we do not know. That is why the candidates in Toronto Centre cannot actually say what their vision is. It is because they do not have one.

[Rosane Doré Lefebvre, NDP, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, first of all I would like to thank my colleague from Brossard—La Prairie for his fine speech.

He talked about the good, well-paying jobs in Canada. With the Keystone XL pipeline, the Conservatives are trying to export our well-paying jobs. We are talking about 40,000 well-paying jobs in Canada's oil refining industry that would be exported.

I would like to comment on one part of the motion: the loss of good jobs. I would like to remind members that Alberta processes about 66% of its bitumen. According to the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board, this would drop to 47% by 2017 as a result of the creation of Keystone XL. What does my colleague from Brossard—La Prairie think of that?

[Hoang Mai, NDP, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Alfred-Pellan for her question.

It allows me to stress the fact that we are talking about the potential creation of 40,000 indirect, direct and induced jobs in Canada.

We would lose 40,000 jobs according to CEP, based on a 2006 Informetrica report on raw bitumen exports. That is a tremendous loss of jobs. The United States is confirming the same thing. Jobs will be created in the United States, not in Canada.

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to stand up for Canadians and for the Canadian environment in supporting this motion. I want to read it so that Canadians are clear what we are discussing:

That, in the opinion of the House, the Keystone XL pipeline would intensify the export of unprocessed raw bitumen and would export more than 40,000 well-paying Canadian jobs, and is therefore not in Canada’s best interest.

I wholeheartedly agree with this motion. This opposition day is an opportunity for the parties in Parliament to show Canadians where they stand on the export of jobs and on the export of our raw resources, or whether perhaps they stand with Canadian workers and for action on the environment. That is the opportunity we have today.

The Conservatives and the Liberals have joined together to promote the Keystone XL pipeline, despite the fact that it would export tens of thousands of Canadian jobs to the U.S. along with our raw resources. It is the same old story we have seen before.

As Canadians know, the Keystone is a massive pipeline network owned by TransCanada. It is designed to move Canadian oil sands crude to U.S. markets and its refineries. The Keystone XL extension would connect the network to the largest segment of U.S. refineries, located on the Gulf Coast. If it goes ahead, it would have a capacity of 830,000 barrels a day, making it the largest export pipeline under consideration.

The Canadian section would consist of 529 kilometres. The National Energy Board here in Canada approved that section back in March 2010. However, the pipeline requires the approval of President Obama in order to proceed, and he has repeatedly delayed the decision. The President has made energy security a priority, but he has expressed serious concerns about Canada's environmental record.

President Obama said:

I'm going to evaluate this based on whether or not this is going to significantly contribute to carbon in our atmosphere. And there is no doubt that Canada at the source in those tar sands could potentially be doing more to mitigate carbon release.

He said that in July of this year, so clearly the U.S. has concerns about the environmental impact.

In terms of emissions in Canada, right now the oil sands account for about 7% of Canada's emissions. That is from 2010 statistics, but those emissions are forecast to double to about 14% of our emissions in 2020.

The Conservatives have promised emissions regulations for the oil and gas sector since they were elected so many long years ago in 2006, but they have repeatedly missed their own deadlines for presenting these regulations. We are still waiting to see them.

A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency analysis found that greenhouse gas emissions linked to the Keystone XL pipeline would be 20% higher than emissions compared to existing sources of crude oil, so we would see a very significant increase in emissions.

However, let us also talk about jobs, because Canadians want good-quality jobs. It is what leads to a good standard of living, a standard of living that supports people and their families, and that is fundamentally important in Canada.

Based on an independent study, the export of unprocessed bitumen envisioned in this Keystone XL project could result in the loss of over 40,000 jobs. These are potential jobs, direct and indirect jobs, induced jobs, related jobs. An analysis by the U.S. State Department found that the Keystone XL would support more than 42,000 jobs during the one- to two-year construction period, with total wages of about $2 billion. That is in the U.S.

Alberta has traditionally upgraded about two-thirds of its bitumen, but that would drop from two-thirds down to about 47%, less than half, by 2017, according to the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board.

We know where the Prime Minister stands on this matter. He has gone from calling the Keystone approval a no-brainer to basically saying he won't take no for an answer, which was an interesting approach to our export capacity.

In Washington this spring, the Minister of Finance talked up the job benefits of the pipeline in the United States. He is talking about the creation of good-quality jobs for Americans, not for Canadians. I want to quote him:

I emphasized that the State Department report indicates this is a very important project for both economies, particularly for employment in the United States—more than 40,000 well-paying jobs.

That was back in April. Those are jobs that we could have here in Canada.

However, he is not alone. The Liberal leader, who also came out strongly in support of this pipeline, recently said, “My support for Keystone is steadfast.... There are lots of American jobs involved and there's lots of opportunities for the United States as well”. He said that just last month.

That is very nice for American jobs. We did not hear him say anything at the time about the environment, so we do not know where he stands on that, but we do know his party's record on the environment, which was to sign the Kyoto accord and then do nothing except watch greenhouse gas emissions skyrocket in Canada.

The Liberal leader's chief of staff was previously a lobbyist for Nexen oil, for Syncrude Canada, for BP Energy, so maybe that had some kind of influence. We do not know, but we have to wonder.

We are very concerned about the Canadian environment and we are very concerned about Canadian jobs. Even the Conservatives' finance minister admits that the Keystone XL pipeline will ship tens of thousands of quality, well-paid Canadian jobs south of the border.

Unlike Conservatives and Liberals, New Democrats do not believe in promoting a massive export of our raw, unprocessed resources. We do not think that is a good economic policy. We believe pipeline projects done properly, with good environmental standards, can benefit Canada, but not when they ship away tens of thousands of good-quality jobs and raw resources, leaving the environmental risks and liabilities on the shoulders of future generations of Canadians. That just makes no good sense.

New Democrats want to develop our economy and develop our resources to serve Canada's long-term environmental and economic prosperity. Instead of holding Conservatives to account, we have seen the Liberal Party stand for shipping out tens of thousands of jobs and the Liberal leader cheering them on. We do not believe in putting the interests of one industry before the interests of all Canadians or before the interests of future generations and the Canadian environment.

That is why I am proud to stand in support of this motion. Canadians can count on New Democrats to defend their interests here in Ottawa and across Canada.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

The hon. member for Parkdale—High Park will have five minutes for questions and comments when the House resumes debate on this motion.