Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise in this House. This is the first time in quite a long time that I have had an adjournment proceeding. Therefore, I will enjoy the opportunity.
I see that the parliamentary secretary is here. I know we will have a vigorous and interesting exchange for the next few minutes.
I will not take up my full four minutes this evening. I just have a few follow-up points that I would like to touch on since my original question a few weeks back.
As members know, in western Canada the issue around the construction of pipelines is still of great importance. We know that the energy sector is still suffering. There are forces that are beyond our control here in Canada with respect to the price of oil, and that is having a negative effect all over Alberta and Saskatchewan.
However, there are a few things that the government could do to help stimulate that sector of the economy, and indeed stimulate the economy as a whole all across the country. One of those things is the energy east pipeline. It is a shovel-ready infrastructure project that would not require a cent of taxpayer dollars but would get thousands of people back to work and provide a better price for western Canadian energy products. Sadly, the Liberals are ideologically opposed to it and have put additional hurdles in the way. In addition, they have also announced their intention to bring in a carbon tax to force every jurisdiction in Canada to comply with the federal government's vision of making Canadians pay more.
In Saskatchewan, Premier Brad Wall has wisely refused to do this. He has resisted the groupthink that has emerged among politicians on the left that this is some kind of a solution to the problem. I am certainly not aware of a jurisdiction in Canada that has seen a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions that can at all be attributed to a carbon tax. It is a revenue source for the government. It is a way for it to fund its agenda, but it does not do anything for the economy.
What I would like to find out from my hon. friend tonight is this: will the Liberals apply their same failed logic to other aspects of the Canadian economy?
We know that pipelines are the safest, most environmentally friendly way to transport oil in our country. However, the Liberals have said in their new NEB program that they will calculate upstream greenhouse gas emissions as part of the overall analysis of any pipeline application. Are they planning to do that with respect to other areas? If there are any investments with respect to ports, will they calculate upstream and perhaps even downstream GHG emissions from port construction? If there are any federal infrastructure investments in rail, will they do that same calculation? Will they calculate the greenhouse gas emissions that may be attributed to those projects to determine if it would have an effect on the overall application?
We know that the Liberals are seriously contemplating a bailout of Bombardier while blocking private sector solutions, such as the expansion of the Toronto island airport or lifting the foreign investment cap in the aerospace sector. Will they also look at the greenhouse gas emissions that would go into the construction of airplanes and jets in our aerospace industry? Fundamentally, will they treat the energy and pipeline sectors fairly? Will they apply those same standards to other federal investments and infrastructure projects around the country?