House of Commons Hansard #11 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was project.

Topics

RCMP's Use of the Law Enforcement Justification ProvisionsRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Regina—Wascana Saskatchewan

Liberal

Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table today, in both official languages, the 2014 annual report of the RCMP's use of the law enforcement justification provisions. This report addresses the RCMP's use of specified provisions within the law enforcement justification regime, which is set out in sections 25.1 to 25.4 of the Criminal Code. This report also documents the nature of the investigations in which these provisions were used.

Security Intelligence Review CommitteeRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Regina—Wascana Saskatchewan

Liberal

Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table today, in both official languages, the 2014-15 annual report of the Security Intelligence Review Committee, as required under section 53 of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act.

Communications Security EstablishmentRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Kanata—Carleton Ontario

Liberal

Karen McCrimmon LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2) and on behalf of the Minister of National Defence, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, copies of the Communications Security Establishment commissioner's 2014-15 annual report.

Canada Labour CodeRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Kildonan—St. Paul Manitoba

Liberal

MaryAnn Mihychuk LiberalMinister of Employment

Canada–United Kingdom Interparliamentary AssociationRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

NDP

Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian delegation of the Canada–United Kingdom Interparliamentary Association respecting its participation in the bilateral visit to London, England as well as to Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom from January 17 to 24, 2015.

Federal Framework on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder ActRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Conservative

Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-211, An Act respecting a federal framework on post-traumatic stress disorder.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to introduce my private member's bill, seconded by the member for Barrie—Innisfil, who served as a firefighter for 33 years. This private member's bill would put in place a national framework on post-traumatic stress disorder for first responders, firefighters, military personnel, corrections officers, and members of police forces such as the RCMP. These are individuals who wake up every single day with the knowledge that when they go to work they may have to put their lives at risk to support and protect Canadians and their country.

It is my sincere hope that with this private member's bill, the men and women who are our silent sentinels know that they are not alone in this and just as they fight to protect our nation there is someone fighting for them. Heroes are human too.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Parliament of Canada ActRoutine Proceedings

January 28th, 2016 / 10:10 a.m.

NDP

Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-212, An Act to amend the Parliament of Canada Act (members who cross the floor).

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to stand in the House to introduce a bill that would deal with the issue of floor crossing, with great thanks to the hon. member for Edmonton—Strathcona.

Elections are about voters expressing their democratic choice. There is an issue of democratic accountability to voters and floor crossing betrays that trust. We have a history in my riding of Vancouver Kingsway where David Emerson crossed the floor from the Liberals to the Conservatives. In the last Parliament, we saw Eve Adams cross to the Liberals and Bruce Hyer cross to the Green Party. The only people who have the right to determine who represents them in the House of Commons are the voters of those districts.

This bill would not prevent floor crossing. It would require a member who crosses the floor to sit with another caucus to obtain the consent of the electorate who ultimately put them here. It would preserve the ability of the member to leave the caucus and sit as an independent as an important check against party oppression.

I think every member in the House should have no problem supporting a bill that supports the basic democratic right of citizens of Canada to choose who represents them in the chamber.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Canada Elections ActRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

NDP

Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-213, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act (voting age).

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to stand in the House to introduce a bill that would widen the franchise of this country by extending the privilege of voting to Canadians aged 16 or over, with great thanks to the member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford.

The history of the franchise in this country is one of expansion. At one time only men could vote, only men with property. Women could not vote, first nations could not vote, and people had to be 21 years of age. Studies show that individuals who begin voting early in our democratic process are more likely to continue voting for the rest of their lives. We know that voter turnout is generally anywhere between 50% and 65%. Therefore, this is an important initiative to get young voters engaged in our process.

Young voters often work and pay taxes, and yet they have no representation as to how those tax dollars are spent. Voter promotion could be organized through our public education system and start off the process of engaged citizens early on in their lives. Examples of countries that do extend suffrage to 16 year olds include Austria, Brazil, Scotland, Argentina, and Equador.

I would urge all members of the House to empower young people to get their important voice expressed in the chamber so that their perspective on Canadian life can be fully expressed in our democratic process.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Immigration and Refugee Protection ActRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

NDP

Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-214, An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (appeals).

Mr. Speaker, I am once again honoured to rise in the House to introduce an act that would amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, to give a right of appeal to people who apply for permanent residence in this country and have that application denied with no substantive right of appeal, with great thanks to the hon. member for Hochelaga for seconding this.

The principles of justice include a substantive right to appeal. People who are seeking to obtain permanent residence in this country often have their decisions decided in a very impersonal administrative manner, with no real right of appeal. I support the government's attempts to try to clean up 10 years of abuse and ignoring the immigration system in this country, where thousands and thousands of cases of injustice have occurred under the Conservative watch.

I will work with the Liberal government to improve that system, to bring in a faster and fairer immigration system. One way we can do that is to make sure that people who apply for something as important as permanent residence have the right decision made and if a wrong one is made, they have the ability to correct that.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

The EnvironmentPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:15 a.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to present two petitions.

The first petition is about pesticides, specifically neonicotinoids.

The Auditor General's report and the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development recently found that the Pest Management Regulatory Agency has not been keeping track of the science on these.

The petitioners from across Canada, including from Ontario and British Columbia, are calling on the government to act in the interest of protecting bees as pollinators, following Europe's lead, and ban these substances in Canada. I would suggest the petitioners' case is even stronger given the commissioner's report.

JusticePetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:15 a.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, my second petition is in response to legislation presented in the last Parliament.

The petitioners' concerns remain valid, to reject legislation that leads to mandatory minimum sentencing and the construction of new prisons. The petitioners point out that mandatory minimums do not work, have been shown around the world not to work, and challenge and interfere with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Public MonumentsPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:15 a.m.

Liberal

Mark Eyking Liberal Sydney—Victoria, NS

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to present 10 petitions signed by hundreds of constituents from Cape Breton and throughout Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Alberta.

These petitioners are calling on the government to endorse the proposed Mother Canada monument so that the Never Forgotten National Memorial Foundation can proceed with construction at Green Cove, Nova Scotia to honour the 114,000 veterans who gave their lives overseas in defence of this great nation.

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

10:15 a.m.

Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

10:15 a.m.

The Speaker

Is that agreed?

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

10:15 a.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Opposition Motion—Energy East Pipeline ProjectBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:15 a.m.

Conservative

Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB

moved:

That, given this time of economic uncertainty, the House: (a) recognize the importance of the energy sector to the Canadian economy and support its development in an environmentally sustainable way; (b) agree that pipelines are the safest way to transport oil; (c) acknowledge the desire for the Energy East pipeline expressed by the provincial governments of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and New Brunswick; and (d) express its support for the Energy East pipeline currently under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, thank you for reading that important motion. I will be sharing my time this morning with the member for Beauce.

I am very happy and proud not only to be able to stand and speak to this motion but to be part of the Conservative Party, the opposition that stands up for those in Alberta, stands up for those in western Canada, stands up for jobs right across this country. That is what this motion is meant to do, certainly to encourage the government to do the same thing. However, we as Conservatives want Albertans and Canadians to know that we will always stand up for their interests, will stand up for Canadian resources, and will stand up for Canadian oil. I am very happy to be able to speak to this.

We really had hoped, when we first put this motion together, that there would be a chance the Liberals might support it, and we would be very pleased if they would support it, not only with their vote but, even more importantly, with their actions. Sadly, yesterday, it became very clear that the government does not understand the importance of the energy sector to Canada's economic strength. The government does not understand that investment and confidence come directly when Canada has a government that is certain of it policy and when there is stability in its policy, which then translates into stability and predictability for sectors like oil and gas.

The government does not seem to understand that when it chooses to ignore the jobs and economic opportunity that come when Canadian energy has the same access to market that the energy of the United States and other countries has, the jobs and opportunities grow. The government's ideological opposition to the fundamental infrastructure that oil needs to access markets safely, frankly, is disturbing. Its ideology is putting Canada at an unfair disadvantage. Liberals are intent on undermining the National Energy Board and intent on putting roadblocks in the way of pipelines being built in the near future.

I wish there was better news today. I wish there was better news for Albertans. I wish there was better news for Canadians overall. However, sadly, the manner and the pattern that the government is showing is very worrisome. It is a pattern of disregard and what would appear to be undervaluing of the natural resources sector, specifically the oil and gas sector in Canada. The decisions Liberals are making and the actions they are undertaking are showing that undervaluing of the energy sector and the oil and gas industry in Canada.

Liberals are undervaluing the men and women who work to get our resources out of the ground and the men and women who work to get our resources to market. Those are both things that we can be very proud of in Canada. The men and women who are working in the oil patch in Canada can be proud because here in Canada we have the most sustainable, clean, responsible way of extracting natural resources, not only because of the strong regulations that our government put in place but because Canada is a country of freedom, of equality, where women's rights, gay rights, human rights, religious freedoms, and labour laws are strong and rigorous. That means that Canadian oil is taken out of the ground and exported in a way that all Canadians can be proud of; and on this side of the House we are immensely proud of that.

There is a worrisome pattern that has developed very shortly after the arrival of the new government. First of all, the Prime Minister made some comments in Davos that maybe were meant to be clever but really were very telling. He said we do not want to be known as a resource country but rather as a country of resourcefulness. At this point in time that is not the watered-down message that Canadians are looking for and not what the natural resource sector is looking for. That was worrisome.

Earlier on, even before that, right after the election, the government announced a moratorium on tanker traffic in northern B.C. The effect of that was a severe body blow to the northern gateway pipeline; again very disturbing. Recently, the government is refusing to stand up for energy east, refusing to make the statement that in principle it would support pipelines. It is worrisome, because Liberals are not afraid to stand up for other types of infrastructure or support other types of infrastructure in principle. However, for some reason, they have a very difficult time saying that pipelines are a good thing for Canadian oil.

Now, just yesterday, they announced another layer, another process, another roadblock in the form of additional approvals. This time it would appear that approvals would be by the ministers themselves.

The announcement they made was really very short. It was a two-pager background—well, it was really a page of background, not even two pages. We have a number of questions, to which we are hoping we can get answers, with respect to the announcement that was made yesterday. There was a bit of confusion as to whether the new assessments by Environment Canada would include upstream. We understand it will include upstream. However, there was confusion as to whether downstream would be included. There needs to be some clarity on that.

There was talk about a ministerial representative who would be part of this environmental assessment; so we understand the bureaucracy, the department, would be doing a parallel environmental assessment. However, there would be what appears to be political representation. There are some large concerns we have about that, and I would think industry would also have them. There are also concerns about what role the proponents would play in that assessment. Would they have any input? Would they be able to look at it, or would it be just a parallel process?

The government's saying it wants to provide certainty in a very uncertain time actually has caused more uncertainty and more questions.

Yesterday's announcement certainly did not give any kind of glimmer of hope, as we have termed it, for those in the oil and gas industry.

I think we should highlight the economic benefit that oil and gas brings to Canada.

Natural resources alone produce 20% of nominal GDP. That is the entire natural resources sector. About half of that comes directly from the energy sector, so about 10% comes directly from oil and gas. That is in comparison with about 6.7% GDP that comes from agriculture. My riding in southern Manitoba has strong agricultural producers. We understand agriculture's importance, and none of us shy away from defending it. We produce the best food in the world here in Canada. When we were in government, we were so proud to open up markets and support our agricultural sector, which is about 6.7 % of GDP.

Gas and oil is more than that. It is about 10%. We should be just as proud to say that we produce the best oil in the world in the most responsible way. We should be supporting oil and gas, just as we support agriculture. On this side of the House, proudly, we do. We stand up for the sectors both in the Prairies and in western Canada.

There are 1.8 million jobs in the natural resources sector, with about 300,000 in the energy sector, specifically. We know a lot of those jobs are in certain regions, such as Alberta, and New Brunswick would benefit greatly from energy east. They are looking for energy east to be built. The mayors, the municipal leaders, have spoken about how important it is. We know, economically, the jobs that are created right across the country.

Safety is something that has been talked about by the government. It has talked about how important it is to have public support and to have public confidence in the safety process. It almost seems that when it says there is public confidence, it has created its own narrative. It is a bit disturbing because the more the government says it, obviously, the more it is repeated.

However, the evidence actually is not there that there is some huge outcry that the public does not support pipelines. We know there are certain interest groups that do not support pipelines and never ever will support pipelines. In fact, many of them sit on the opposite side, on the government, where they said they do not think that natural resources should be extracted and there should be no more pipelines.

Let us talk about a reasonable, balanced approach and talk about pipeline safety.

First, let me just state this, to put it into perspective. We believe that all infrastructure projects should be developed in a responsible way. All infrastructure projects have assessments that they need to go through. Most infrastructure projects have to have some community involvement.

I live in Ottawa, as many of my colleagues do. The LRT is being built right now and there is a lot of noise going on, and the LRT folks are still consulting with the community to talk about the impact that the LRT is having on the people who live right downtown. However, nobody would say that, as a government, they are never going to support rapid transit because not all of the consultation has been done. That is ridiculous.

Of course governments support the idea of rapid transit, and of course governments should support the idea of pipelines and Canadian pipelines being built. Therefore, infrastructure requires a regulatory oversight, community involvement, and all of those important things.

For some reason, though, the Liberal government can support all kinds of infrastructure but it cannot support pipelines. We need to be on the same playing field as our U.S. partners. The U.S. is lifting exports. It is building pipelines. It is not talking about a carbon tax. We need to get behind oil in Canada. We need to get behind energy east and support the jobs that it creates and the economic opportunity.

Opposition Motion—Energy East Pipeline ProjectBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:30 a.m.

NDP

Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB

Madam Speaker, the regulation, development, and support of natural resources is very important to my province of Alberta. The Conservatives are now raising this concern that export and interprovincial pipelines are not being built in Canada, yet during their 10-year tenure we did not see any being built. My concern is for the rising unemployment in my province. Apparently, there was a billion dollars earmarked by the former Conservative government for infrastructure, which was not delivered, yet we have the highest unemployment record since 2008, reported to be nearly four times higher for labourers and lower-paid workers than for higher-paid workers. Overall, we have lost more than 30,000 natural resource jobs. These layoffs did not just start this month; they did not start after the federal election; they started about a year and a half ago. Where was the Conservative government when it decided not to spend the dollars that would create good jobs in Alberta and across the country?

Opposition Motion—Energy East Pipeline ProjectBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:30 a.m.

Conservative

Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB

Madam Speaker, I am thankful for that question because it once again gives me a chance to correct the record.

Four major pipelines were built between 2006 and 2015 when we were in government. Let us be clear: no taxpayer dollars went into those major pipelines, rather it was all private money, and that created jobs in the private sector.

I will name those four major pipelines. If anybody tries to undermine the value of these pipelines that went across Canada, I would again say it is just an undermining of the industry. There is the Enbridge Alberta clipper pipeline, which produces 450,000 barrels per day. There is the Keystone pipeline. For everyone's information, there actually was a Keystone pipeline that was built, and for the minister's information, it went right through Manitoba, and one went through my riding in Manitoba. There is the Kinder Morgan anchor loop pipeline, which was a little more local. Then there is also the Enbridge reversal pipeline. Therefore, 1.25 million more barrels of oil a day, out of about 4.3 million barrels of oil, is getting pumped through this country through pipelines that were built under the Conservative government.

Opposition Motion—Energy East Pipeline ProjectBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:30 a.m.

Conservative

Blake Richards Conservative Banff—Airdrie, AB

Madam Speaker, I was unable to be in the chamber for all of the member's speech, and she may have addressed this topic, but I certainly am concerned about some of the expectations we have of the Liberal government and what it will do for the people who are employed in the energy industry in my province. At a time when our province is already hurting, what we are hearing from that side will be very damaging to our economy and to many jobs for many workers in my province. Throughout my riding, when going into some of the restaurants and the retail stores, I am hearing concerns about the impacts of the job losses and the plans that are being made by the Liberal government, which could cost more jobs and cause people to go out of business. Obviously, it is a concern shared by, I think, many of my colleagues from Alberta on this side.

I would like to ask the member if she could comment on the interim measures for pipeline review that were put in place yesterday. My view on it is that the Liberals are taking a process that works well, is streamlined, and allows a decision to be made one way or the other on a pipeline project, and they are trying to lengthen it and create further delays, which obviously is problematic for the industry and for jobs. They are also politicizing it. They are making it a political decision on behalf of their government. I think that is wrong, and I want to hear the hon. member's comments on that.

Opposition Motion—Energy East Pipeline ProjectBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:35 a.m.

Conservative

Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB

Madam Speaker, we are incredibly concerned that this is going back to 10 or 15 years before approvals happen, which means that approvals will not happen and that this will be political.

Albertans are suffering as a result of low oil prices and a low Canadian dollar. We need to get pipelines built. They would be infrastructure for Canadian natural resources. Jobs would be immediately ready. Billions of dollars are ready to be invested. We need to do this not only for Alberta but for all of Canada, and the Liberals need to show leadership and courage on this file.

Opposition Motion—Energy East Pipeline ProjectBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:35 a.m.

Conservative

Maxime Bernier Conservative Beauce, QC

Madam Speaker, today it is my pleasure to speak to a subject that means a lot to me and to support my colleague's motion. The motion is well written. It urges us to recognize the importance of the energy sector to the Canadian economy. It is a fact that the energy sector accounts for over 10% of Canada's economy. Businesses in that sector create wealth in Canada, and we must support them.

The motion also states that pipelines are the safest way to transport oil. Being from Quebec, I can assure my colleagues that Quebeckers agree, particularly since the worst tragedy involving transportation of oil by rail struck Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. Quebeckers know that using pipelines to move oil is much safer. We have been doing it for years, and with safe, modern pipeline construction technology, it is entirely feasible to develop this economic sector while keeping the environment safe.

Our motion also states that a number of governments are in favour of safe pipeline projects that comply with Canadian laws, including the governments of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and New Brunswick. Quebeckers also agree, despite the opinion of the mayor of Montreal, who indicated a few days ago that he opposes the project, before even hearing the National Energy Board's position and recommendations.

Since taking a stance, the mayor has made all kinds of comments. For instance, he said that Montreal, with its four million residents, has a larger population than Saskatchewan, with its 1.3 million residents, and therefore Montreal has the right to say no to such a pipeline project. It is ridiculous to take such a position, and I am very disappointed in the mayor of Montreal, since he does not represent the opinion of Quebeckers. I agree with many people in western Canada who are outraged by the position of the Montreal mayor and the Prime Minister, who went and added another approval process, one that is really just political. The process that was already in place adhered to all the rules and was independent. This government is trying to politicize part of the energy sector, something no one does with other methods of transportation, such as public transit. There are independent processes, and politics do not interfere with them.

Last week, I travelled to western Canada and stopped in Vancouver, Calgary, and Winnipeg, and I took the opportunity to meet with people there. The topic of discussion was economic development in Canada. We talked about what can be done to build a strong economy. One important thing we talked about was developing pipelines in Canada.

We know that this government unfortunately wants to run a deficit of over $20 billion. That is the latest figure that we have. The government does not want to elaborate, but we are heading toward a $20 billion deficit. The government says it wants to stimulate the economy by borrowing money that we do not have. As things stand now, 10%, or 10¢ out of every dollar that Canadians pay in taxes, is used to pay the interest on the debt. That is equivalent to the entire budget for the Minister of National Defence. The government wants to run an even bigger deficit and add to the debt in order, in its view, to stimulate the economy. This will not stimulate the economy. It will sedate it.

We have the energy east pipeline project, in which the private sector is going to invest more than $15 billion. That is not Canadian taxpayers' money. It does not come from taxes paid by Canadians. It comes from the private sector. We know that wealth is created through private sector investment, not through government spending. The private sector is going to invest $15 billion to develop Canadian energy and gain access to other markets. Day after day, this government keeps standing in the developers' way. It is very disappointing, especially coming on the heels of an election campaign during which the government said it wanted to engage in consultations and adopt policies in favour of economic development.

I would also like to talk about the financial impact of these projects on the Canadian economy. Canadian municipalities collect more than $600 million in property taxes from pipeline companies.

Furthermore, these companies paid $1.1 billion in corporate taxes in 2014. They pay significant amounts in taxes to the Government of Canada, and they make more than $25 million in community investments.

The investment will help those who work in pipeline construction, people working in oil refineries in Montreal and New Brunswick, and also the people in the different communities.

Delays in project approval mean that Canada does not have access to a new market for its natural resources and could result in up to $70 million a day in lost economic activity.

What is the government waiting for to move forward and support my colleague's opposition motion in support of Canada's economic development?

The government might say that we have to protect the environment. I would like to say that our government, the former government, made legislative changes to protect the environment and develop natural resources responsibly.

We made changes to the National Energy Board's decision-making power so that it can make recommendations to the government about whether to approve or reject a project. Politicians will have the last word, and that is as it should be. That is important.

We also shortened the time frames for project approval. In the past, it could take up to four or five years for a project to be approved. Now, projects must be approved or rejected within 15 months. What is more, anyone who is interested in expressing their opinion on such projects can do so by submitting a brief, and that is what is now being done.

We therefore made sure that the Canadian public, Canadian and Quebec stakeholders, can submit briefs to the National Energy Board and are given the time they need to present their concerns.

We also revised the scope of the review so that it focuses on the project under review rather than on alarmist theories put forward by people who are advocating for a kind of development without having access to various resources. It is important to point that out.

In other words, the National Energy Board is completely independent and will make recommendations. The government should support this motion because Canadians and people in various provinces, particularly Quebec, want it.

Like other Canadian provinces, Quebec receives equalization payments, which come from the western provinces. I thank those people. I wish that Quebec and New Brunswick were rich and did not need equalization payments. However, in order for that to happen, we need to stimulate the economy. The construction of the energy east pipeline will support economic development and benefit every province of Canada.

We need to support this motion and let the industry know that, yes, we are in favour of sustainable economic development.

Opposition Motion—Energy East Pipeline ProjectBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:45 a.m.

Liberal

Fayçal El-Khoury Liberal Laval—Les Îles, QC

Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on his speech and on his election.

I have a question for the member. How can he say that the government has been standing in the way?

He knows very well that for the first time in Canada's history, the government is massively investing in green infrastructure to protect the environment and create jobs. The government is doing the impossible to stimulate our economy.

I urge the member to do his homework and to think about the best interests of Canadians, because the government will do everything in its power to protect the best interests of Canadians. That is the kind of government we have here, in the House.

Opposition Motion—Energy East Pipeline ProjectBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:45 a.m.

Conservative

Maxime Bernier Conservative Beauce, QC

Madam Speaker, my colleague is talking about government investments, but that is wrong. These are not government investments; they are government expenditures made on the backs of future generations. I must point out that the government does not create wealth. The private sector creates wealth. The private sector is prepared to create wealth and to invest $15 billion to build a pipeline that will benefit the economy across Canada.

This government is dragging its feet. Yesterday, it established another environmental assessment process, in addition to the National Energy Board's process. Canadians are sick and tired of studies and processes. There is already a process and it is being followed. We must let the National Energy Board do its job and then look at its recommendations. In the meantime, we know that energy east can address any concerns the industry and the public have about the pipeline, because it will do so in accordance with Canadian laws and regulations.

Opposition Motion—Energy East Pipeline ProjectBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:45 a.m.

NDP

Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for his remarks. I would like to comment on his remarks as well as on those of his colleague, the member for Portage—Lisgar.

The member for Portage—Lisgar just stated in this place that providing opportunities for impacted communities or first nations to have a say in decision-making on pipelines is a roadblock to decision-making. The member for Beauce just claimed that his government implemented measures to protect the environment. That is astounding.

It is well known across this country that one of the significant things the Conservative government did was completely shred a history of environmental legislation, such as the Navigable Waters Protection Act , the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, and the Fisheries Act, through a process that denied the opportunity to Canadians to have a voice.

Surely the major roadblock to decision-making on critical infrastructure has been the Conservatives' actions; they refused to provide a social licence for major projects.

Opposition Motion—Energy East Pipeline ProjectBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:45 a.m.

Conservative

Maxime Bernier Conservative Beauce, QC

Madam Speaker, I completely disagree with my colleague's comments and her conclusion because the facts are the facts. Based on the facts, I can say that 99.99% of the oil transported by federally regulated pipelines arrives at its destination without incident. It is the safest way to transport oil and gas.

I would like to tell my colleague that our government's environmental record is good. We fostered both environmental protection and economic development. That is what we did. Air quality indicators improved in Canada. Our air quality improved and our economy advanced because we have new technology and because respect for the environment is integral to the projects that today's entrepreneurs are undertaking.