Mr. Speaker, it is a great honour to respond to the Speech from the Throne on behalf of the citizens of the new riding of Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola. I would like to inform you that I will be sharing my time with the great member for Thornhill.
Time is valuable in this place and, thus, I will get directly to adding a few comments that are of great concern to my riding.
The largest single void in the Speech from the Throne is that there is zero mention of the need to prioritize a new Canada-United States softwood lumber agreement.
Let me provide pause, for a moment.
In Princeton, British Columbia, over the past few decades, a lumber mill has been the single largest private employer in that community. The same goes for Merritt, British Columbia, where there are a number of lumber mills. I also have to say it is the same situation in my home community of West Kelowna.
These mills drive local economies. Make no mistake, for every lumber mill, there are many spinoff jobs and small businesses that also depend upon the health of the B.C. forestry sector.
It is not just softwood lumber and the forestry industry on which the throne speech is silent. There is also no mention of mining.
In Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, we are fortunate to have two major mining operations that provide hundreds of well-paying resource jobs.
Right now, the mining sector is very nervous, as our Prime Minister recently slighted our former prime minister in Davos over the very subject of natural resources.
I am here to tell members, clearly, that natural resources and resource development are not dirty words. They may not fit into the new Prime Minister's narrative of sunny ways and selfies, but make no mistake, communities in my riding very much depend upon these well-paying jobs.
The Prime Minister should also know that the people who work in this industry are extremely resourceful, but they are also extremely technologically dependent. In fact, Canada is known to be the leader in the development and utilization of robotic mining. The mining sector itself is second only to the federal government in its use of computers in Canada. These are things that I think people should know.
Innovation drives the forestry sector because it is so dependent upon productivity. In fact, robotics and new methods of global positioning and satellite work are constantly being used to make that sector more productive.
To imply that resourcefulness is not involved in getting Canadian resources to international markets is an insult to those who work so hard to make our economies grow.
My other major concern in the Speech from Throne is the lack of clarity around infrastructure.
The throne speech references transit spending, social infrastructure, and green infrastructure, but it is largely silent on civic infrastructure.
Let me explain why this lack of clarity is a major concern, not just in my riding but throughout many parts of British Columbia.
The Prime Minister named only three members from British Columbia to his cabinet; however, none of these three has been named as the lead British Columbia regional minister. This creates challenges for municipalities—more so for municipalities located outside the Lower Mainland—as these Liberal ministers all represent ridings within a short distance of one another.
I have concerns on the throne speech, but the final point I will raise is that it is also completely silent on the subject of pipelines.
Why is that a concern? As an example, the Trans Mountain pipeline will generate $13 million annually in tax revenue for the regional district of Thompson-Nicola. Merritt alone, which currently collects $150,000 from the existing Trans Mountain pipeline, would see that increase to $250,000 a year, as a result of the expansion.
They are huge sums of revenue for small local governments, not to mention an estimated $419 million in pipeline-related construction just around Merritt and area and other communities.
Let us be clear. The Trans Mountain pipeline was first built in 1953. It does need to be replaced, and twinning is a cost-effective solution that would help communities in my riding.
However, the Trans Mountain project is not the only one missing from the throne speech. There is another kind of pipeline proposed for B.C., and that involves British Columbia liquid natural gas, or LNG.
B.C. LNG proposes billions of dollars of new investment for British Columbia. We should not overlook the good work of the B.C. government in signing roughly 61 agreements with 28 different first nation communities along the proposed LNG pipeline route.
Does the Liberal government support this critically important project? We have no idea. The throne speech was completely silent on these private-sector projects. Billions of dollars of investment is proposed for these projects at a time when jobs and investment are needed, and there is no mention of them in the throne speech.
Does everyone agree on these projects? No, but has there ever been a major project in any province at any time that does not draw naysayers? Absolutely, there has not. That is the final point on the throne speech that I will leave for this place.
For those who have been in government before—maybe they have served as a local councillor or as a mayor; maybe they have served as a cabinet minister in a provincial government—eventually, they all know that difficult decisions need to be made. Timelines are required. Processes need to have transparency as well as certainty. This is what attracts investment, creates jobs, and completes projects.
Naysayers and social licence did not create this country. Those things did not build Canada. It was hard work, investment, vision, and leadership from those who were not afraid to make those difficult decisions to build a bigger, stronger country. This is the vision my constituents were looking for in the throne speech. I might also add that these concerns are not only missing from this document, but many of the things I have mentioned today are also not mentioned in mandate letters, which is troubling and somewhat alarming to me.
In fact, as an example, we will take the important subject of interprovincial trade. Our Prime Minister has given himself the role of minister of intergovernmental affairs. However, where is his mandate letter for the minister of intergovernmental affairs? It is missing. What kind of message does that send?
There are many other concerns I would like to raise. However, I have summarized my comments today to illustrate some key concerns as they relate to my riding, to my province, and to things I would like to see as a proud Canadian. I would like to thank all members of this place for taking the time to hear my concerns today. I look forward to working with all of them together to build that Canada on which I know many of my constituents would agree we need to work together.