Mr. Speaker, I am happy to rise today, and I hope to get some clearer answers on a question that I asked in early February.
When the Liberals were initially elected, they said during their platform and then immediately afterward that they were going to be making changes to the National Energy Board approval process. However, they recognized quickly that there was a lot of clarity needed. Then the government announced what it called transition steps. It made that announcement, I believe in late January.
Early in February, in the transition steps that the government announced, there were five guiding principles as well as ministerial representation. It became clear within the first week that what the Liberals had intended to make a more clear process got even more confusing for proponents.
I directed my question to the Minister of Natural Resources. However, it was the Minister of Environment and Climate Change who answered and did not provide a very clear answer, not only to clearing up the transition process but to recognizing that by making it more cloudy it was creating two problems. There was no further clarity as far as what pipeline proponents and other energy infrastructure proponents would need to do. That then sent a signal to investors, potential money that would be invested in Canada, that there was uncertainty. When investors are looking around the world, they usually have a very short time and window to place that money. If Canada does not look like a place where they can invest and have certainty, they put their money elsewhere.
Almost a month ago, I asked the minister for clarity on the five principles. To date, we have not seen any clarity. We are not sure, and proponents are not sure, when it comes, for example, to upstream GHG measurements—which will now be included in the assessment—what the number is that either cabinet will be looking for, or the assessment itself will deem to be appropriate. Nobody knows that.
The Department of Environment and Climate Change is doing the assessment, but the proponents are not told the goal that they need to get to in order for cabinet to say it is an acceptable or unacceptable GHG limit. That is one of the answers that I know we are looking for clarity on, and I know proponents are also looking for clarity.
Again, I said there were five principles that were announced. Of those five principles, are they all weighted the same? For example, is community engagement weighted the same as indigenous peoples meaningful consultation? Will GHG upstream emissions be given more weight? Of the five principles, are they weighted differently?
As members can see, there is a lot of confusion. Proponents are saying that there is no clarity. It is causing a lot of problems in terms of jobs and job creators in the natural resources sector, not just oil and gas. We are looking for some clarity on that.