Pursuant to Standing Order 93, the recorded division stands deferred until Wednesday, February 15, 2017, immediately before the time provided for private members' business.

Pursuant to an order made on Thursday, February 2, the House shall now resolve itself into committee of the whole to consider Motion No. 11 under government business.

I do now leave the chair for the House to go into committee of the whole.

(House in committee of the whole on Government Business No. 11, Mr. Anthony Rota in the chair)

Job Losses in the Energy SectorGovernment Orders

6:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Chair Liberal Anthony Rota

Before we begin this evening's debate, I would like to remind hon. members of how the proceedings will unfold. Each member speaking will be allotted 10 minutes for debate followed by 10 minutes for questions and comments.

Members may divide their time with another member. The debate will end after four hours or when no member rises to speak. Pursuant to the order made on Thursday, February 2, the Chair will receive no quorum calls, dilatory motions or requests for unanimous consent.

We will now begin tonight's take note debate.

Job Losses in the Energy SectorGovernment Orders

6:50 p.m.

Waterloo Ontario

Liberal

Bardish Chagger LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons

moved:

That the House take note of the job losses in the energy sector.

Job Losses in the Energy SectorGovernment Orders

6:50 p.m.

Winnipeg South Centre Manitoba

Liberal

Jim Carr LiberalMinister of Natural Resources

Mr. Chair, I thank the hon. member for Portage—Lisgar for initiating this important debate. No member from any party can be indifferent to the effect that lower oil prices have had on Albertans.

As a government, we know the challenges workers and their families in the energy sector have faced over the last three years. While there are some encouraging signs, such as higher commodity prices, increasing investment in the energy industry, and President Trump's endorsement of the Keystone pipeline, there are more steps to be taken before these developments translate into more jobs.

This does not just affect Alberta. As the hon. member knows, the slowdown in the oil patch has rippled across the country, affecting workers from British Columbia to Newfoundland and Labrador. When Alberta's energy industry is hurting, the entire country feels the pain. Our government understands how vital the Alberta energy industry is not only to the people and the economy of Alberta but to all of Canada. That is why we have focused on creating the conditions that will lead to good, middle-class energy jobs. One of our government's key responsibilities is to help get Canadian resources to market. With our major customer, the United States, producing more and more of its own energy, it is essential that Canada build the infrastructure to get our oil and gas to new global markets. We are acting, doing more in one year than the previous government did in a decade: protecting our oceans, pricing carbon pollution, and putting middle-class Canadians back to work by approving the pipelines we need to reach those new markets. That is the best way to ensure jobs and opportunities in the energy industry right across the country.

When we came to office just over a year ago, we were faced with a loss of confidence among Canadians. They had lost trust in the way major energy projects were assessed, and they knew that engagement with indigenous communities was not just a platitude but a must-do if we were to approve new major projects. More broadly, Canadians expect their government to take the environment seriously and regain our reputation as a conscientious player on the world stage.

In our first budget, we invested in the people of Alberta and their future by providing millions of dollars to build infrastructure, promote clean energy, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the oil and gas sector. Our government also brought certainty to projects already under review through an interim strategy that included more extensive public consultations, meaningful indigenous engagement, and broader environmental criteria. The next step is to modernize the National Energy Board to ensure that Canada's regulator serves the needs of Canadians into the future.

All of these initiatives, rebuilding trust, re-engaging with indigenous Canadians, and revamping the regulatory process, are being carried out with a single goal in mind: to create the conditions that will allow us to get Canada's resources to market sustainably and ensure good long-term jobs in the energy sector.

In the midst of these efforts, global commodity prices collapsed and we took immediate steps to help those most affected in the west, the north, and in Newfoundland and Labrador. Our government extended employment insurance benefits by five weeks, up to a maximum of 50 weeks for those who were eligible. Next we provided an additional 20 weeks of EI regular benefits to long-tenured workers in key areas, up to a maximum of 70 weeks. While focusing on the hardest-hit regions was essential, it was not enough, so we improved the EI program across Canada, extending the maximum duration of EI work-sharing agreements from 38 weeks to 76 weeks to help employers retain skilled employees and avoid the costs of recruiting and training new employees once business returns to normal levels.

Our first budget was widely praised for being progressive and helping Canadians. That is the record of this government. That is how a caring government responds when its people are hit by unforseen events, like a drop in world oil prices.

Even as we provided immediate support, we also kept our eye on the bigger picture: the need to get job-creating infrastructure built. In just over a year since forming government we have been able to do what the previous government could not get done in a decade. We have approved the infrastructure projects that will create tens of thousands of jobs for Canadians, many of them in Alberta: the Arnaud apatite mine, 910 jobs; the Woodfibre LNG project, 700 jobs; the Black Point granite quarry project, 100 jobs; the Pacific NorthWest LNG project, 4,800 jobs; the NOVA Gas pipeline, 3,000 jobs; the Line 3 pipeline replacement, 7,000 jobs; and the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, 15,440 jobs.

These projects mean 30,000 jobs and more than $26 billion will be injected into Canada's economy. That is delivering for Canadians in the energy sector. That is laying the foundation for good, long-term, sustainable jobs, jobs that one can raise a family on and plan a future around. After a decade of idle talk and empty promises, our government is making real progress.

As Premier Notley put it so well on the day we announced the approval of two major pipeline projects:

It has been a long, dark night for the people of Alberta.... Today, we are finally seeing some morning light....We're getting a chance to sell to China and other new markets at better prices. We're getting a chance to reduce our dependence on one market, and therefore to be more economically independent. And we're getting a chance to pick ourselves up and move forward again.

The approach of our government from day one has been forward looking to not only the jobs and opportunities of tomorrow, but also to ensuring support for workers affected today by events beyond their control. That is why we provided enhanced EI benefits when and where they were needed most. It is why we have worked so hard to restore confidence in how major resource projects are assessed, including re-establishing a nation-to-nation relationship with indigenous communities. It is why we are investing in clean technologies, the job generators of today and tomorrow.

Workers in the energy sector in Alberta and across Canada know that they have a champion in Ottawa.

It is an ally that will not run when the tough times hit, a champion that will work to ensure a future of jobs and opportunities for all Canadians from coast to coast for generations to come.

Job Losses in the Energy SectorGovernment Orders

7 p.m.

Conservative

Mark Strahl Conservative Chilliwack—Hope, BC

Mr. Chair, the people who have just listened to the minister could be forgiven if they thought we were having this take-note debate because things have never been better for energy workers. Quite frankly, I found it insulting. We are here to talk about job losses in the energy sector and what we can do about it, and all we heard was a self-congratulatory pat on the back from the minister about what the government has done. All the Liberals have done is issue press releases using the processes that the Conservative Party put in place when we were in government.

I want to ask a question about the change that has happened as a result of the U.S. election. While President Trump is certainly unpredictable, we do know a few things. One is that he will not increase regulations on the energy sector. He said very clearly that he is looking to cut regulations on that sector. He also said that he will not be bringing in a national carbon tax that kills jobs.

I would ask the minister, given that our closest competitor is not bringing in a job-killing carbon tax and is reducing regulations, how will his policies do anything but kill more jobs in the energy sector?

Job Losses in the Energy SectorGovernment Orders

7 p.m.

Liberal

Jim Carr Liberal Winnipeg South Centre, MB

Mr. Chair, I want to start by thanking the member for Chilliwack—Hope for accompanying us to Mexico City last week. There was a delegation of 37 business leaders and four indigenous leaders, so that we could engage in a constructive dialogue with our Mexican friends on energy and on mine development. His participation was productive, and I welcomed it.

The member knows that we are all adjusting to the new administration, and a very productive use of our time is to expand our network, to deepen our contacts, to talk to congressional leaders, to those who will be serving. We all know that Governor Perry has not yet been confirmed as the American cabinet secretary, but as soon as he is, we will be requesting a meeting, and I am confident that will happen at an early moment.

We believe that the key to a relationship with the future administration is to find those areas of convergence where the American interest and the Canadian interest can be aligned. We think that energy is one place where that is possible and even likely. We were encouraged by one of the first executive orders of President Trump, giving his approval of the Keystone XL project, which we have supported all along. We will watch that very carefully.

We also understand that competitiveness is very important. We know that there are literally trillions of dollars of international investment looking for a place to land on renewable sources of energy, on clean technology. We want to position Canada to be a leader to attract that investment, because the objective is to use the energy we have today to finance the transition to tomorrow.

Job Losses in the Energy SectorGovernment Orders

7:05 p.m.

Conservative

David Yurdiga Conservative Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB

Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the minister for painting such a rosy picture, but reality is different.

People are losing their homes. Families are living in cars. I had a chance to meet a family, a young father and mother with a young child, who are living in a car and couch surfing. They go to Alberta Works, and there is no help.

When the minister is saying the government is creating all these jobs, what is it going to do for the people who are suffering right now? What do we tell these people? The government is not helping them. People go for help, and they are refused.

What is the federal government going to do to help the people who are suffering at this moment? We are seeing billions of dollars going outside of our country to help other countries, but we have people who are homeless and not one penny, not one commitment is coming from our federal government.

Job Losses in the Energy SectorGovernment Orders

7:05 p.m.

Liberal

Jim Carr Liberal Winnipeg South Centre, MB

Mr. Chair, we are not trying to distort the reality nor diminish the suffering being felt by Alberta families. Alberta families are not alone in their suffering because of this downturn in commodity prices in the energy sector. We know there are families in Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador, and elsewhere that are dependent on a vibrant economy in Alberta.

I do not think it is fair for the member to say that the Government of Canada either does not care or has done nothing. That does not give any appreciation at all to all of the measures that I outlined in my speech. It comes, not because anyone is demanding that the government do it, but because we believe it is the right thing to do. When a region of Canada suffers, the rest of the country responds. Canadians have a responsibility to look after each other.

The record is clear on what the we have been able to accomplish. The long-term strategy and the transformation of the energy sector is also a part of this government's policy. We are proud of those 30,000 jobs that will be created by these approvals.

Job Losses in the Energy SectorGovernment Orders

7:05 p.m.

NDP

Kennedy Stewart NDP Burnaby South, BC

Mr. Chair, I know we are having a Kinder Morgan love-in here, but let me express a position from a different province. British Columbia feels absolutely betrayed by how the minister and his government said they would review the whole pipeline review process, but then the Liberals broke their word. Throughout the election campaign, they said they were going to review the process and allow British Columbians to have a say. Then, of course, they break their word and ram this thing through.

The minister had the audacity to say that he would bring in the army to force this pipeline through—

Job Losses in the Energy SectorGovernment Orders

7:05 p.m.

Liberal

Jim Carr Liberal Winnipeg South Centre, MB

I did not say—

Job Losses in the Energy SectorGovernment Orders

7:05 p.m.

NDP

Kennedy Stewart NDP Burnaby South, BC

You said it. Absolutely.

I think British Columbians feel betrayed about this. The minister gets up and talks about 15,000 jobs, which he knows will be filled by temporary foreign workers, when the company's own website says it is only 90 full-time jobs.

The company will make $2 billion a year off this pipeline, and we are getting nothing. You shut British Columbians out. I think you should apologize.

Job Losses in the Energy SectorGovernment Orders

7:05 p.m.

Liberal

Jim Carr Liberal Winnipeg South Centre, MB

Mr. Chair, we all know that major energy infrastructure decisions are controversial. They are controversial among regions and they are also controversial within political parties. The member will know that I quoted at some length Premier Notley of Alberta, who applauded the decisions of the Government of Canada.

I also know that I have had many meetings with union leaders and members of trade unions who understand that these energy infrastructure projects will create good jobs for their families. I have to say I am a little surprised that the member, who would have excellent connections with both the Government of Alberta and union leaders and members, does not understand that there is another side to the story he is telling.

Job Losses in the Energy SectorGovernment Orders

7:10 p.m.

Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

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

Mr. Chair, could my colleague provide further comment when he indicated that when one part of the country is an area of need, the other parts of the country respond. We saw that in the fire in Alberta where all Canadians recognized what was taking place. The member across the way asked a question about caring. I believe we have seen a very strong indication of that caring attitude from the government.

The minister made reference to employment insurance and how this government moved so quickly on that front, but I also wanted to highlight the child benefit program, which helped a great number of Albertans. There are other initiatives that may be not as direct, but indirectly also helped Albertans and all people in the prairies.

We all care about what is happening in the prairies, particularly Alberta with regard to oil prices and the issues it has had to overcome. Could my colleague add a few more thoughts about coming together in support of provinces when they need it?

Job Losses in the Energy SectorGovernment Orders

7:10 p.m.

Liberal

Jim Carr Liberal Winnipeg South Centre, MB

Mr. Chair, I toured the devastation at Fort McMurray with colleagues and with others. I could not believe the ravages of this uncontrollable fire. What struck me most was the randomness of the devastation. We were touring through neighbourhoods, some that had not survived at all, and some that had survived almost one house randomly at a time.

The Government of Canada reacted swiftly and I think appropriately, as did Canadians. The outpouring of affection for Albertans and genuine concern about the devastation of the fire was probably the best example I can think of, of how Canadians came together when Alberta needed the rest of the country in ways that were impactful and meaningful.

Remarkably, because of the resilience of the people of Alberta and even the resilience of the human spirit, miraculously that community is on its feet again. I will never forget what I saw with my own eyes and how the community moved so impressively to put things right.

Job Losses in the Energy SectorGovernment Orders

7:10 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Job Losses in the Energy SectorGovernment Orders

7:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Chair Liberal Anthony Rota

Before we continue, I know we do not have take-note debates too often, but I want to remind the hon. members that their questions and comments still have to be made through the Chair, not directly across. Just to add on to that, if someone is speaking, regardless of which side they are on, it is good to wait your turn and you will be recognized rather than shouting it across while that person is speaking. It just makes it easier for all of us.

Resuming debate, the hon. member for Edmonton Riverbend.

Job Losses in the Energy SectorGovernment Orders

7:10 p.m.

Conservative

Matt Jeneroux Conservative Edmonton Riverbend, AB

Mr. Chair, I would like to split my time with the hon. member for Calgary Rocky Ridge.

For everybody who is tuning in tonight, particularly those in Alberta, I want to start by apologizing on behalf of all parliamentarians for what they just witnessed on the other side of the House. That was a display of their Liberal government in action, out of touch. It was sad to watch, sitting here. Instead of singing platitudes of what the government has done and what it hopes to accomplish, I would like to start my speech by reading a few of the messages that I have received over the last little while from constituents.

First, “We are struggling to make ends meet on my income alone, and it is very hard. After our bills are paid, we have $10 a month to pay for food, gas money to get me to work, clothing, school payments for field trips, etc. Needless to say, we are going further into debt each month with no end in sight. We need help if we are to keep a roof over our head and food in our bellies.”

Another quote, “Unemployed since May 2016, unable to find work with my related degree and experience. I have a bachelor of science in biology and numerous certificates.” Another quote, “I can't afford my mortgage. I feel depressed and forgotten.” Last, “Never in my life have I been without a job for this long. I'm simply sad.”

That is why we are having this debate tonight, not to congratulate the government on initiatives it thinks are important, not to talk about the child care benefit that the Liberals think is important. It is about these people in Alberta who are struggling, these people in Alberta who cannot afford to make their next mortgage payment.

My colleagues and I from Alberta have risen many times in this place to ask the government, to plead with the government, for some type of support. Each time in question period, we get told the same things: “We approved more pipelines than you guys on that side of the House”. I can say that is not what Albertans want to hear. The minister said he has been to Alberta. Well I invite him to come back because wherever he is going, he is not hearing the same things that we are hearing in our constituency offices.

To make matters worse, we have the Prime Minister. The first comment he made in an interview where he told someone to simply hang in there, was a slap in the face to Albertans. That was something that resonated in Alberta. Is this honestly what the Prime Minister thinks we should do? Then it got worse. The Minister of Infrastructure and Communities then was asked on a radio show, “How do we get out of this crisis?” He simply said, with a chuckle, we will “get out of this difficult time together by holding hands with each other.” That is not what Albertans want to hear.

Last, the Prime Minister went on his cross-country tour. I encourage him to do that again and again because that gave us great stuff. However, the comment that he made about phasing out the oil sands takes us back to the 1970s and a prime minister back then saying very similar things, who happened to be his father. That is the sense that we get from the current government time and again.

We hear about the unemployment numbers in Calgary and Edmonton. They just keep going up. Apparently, construction jobs were supposed to counter this. That is where we lost most jobs in the province: 52,800, to be exact.

In my last few seconds, I want to tie this debate back to where it began. This is a jobs crisis. It is not a news story. It is not something that they can win political points off. It is a life for many Albertans back home, and that is why we are having this debate tonight.

Job Losses in the Energy SectorGovernment Orders

7:15 p.m.

Winnipeg South Centre Manitoba

Liberal

Jim Carr LiberalMinister of Natural Resources

Mr. Chair, I would like to respond to the member's speech, which was heartfelt and eloquent, by asking this question. Why does he not think that pipeline approvals are important to the workforce in Alberta?

Job Losses in the Energy SectorGovernment Orders

7:15 p.m.

Conservative

Matt Jeneroux Conservative Edmonton Riverbend, AB

Mr. Chair, I do not believe I said pipelines are not vital to the workforce. They are incredibly vital.

It goes back to our early days here in Parliament where we encouraged the government at the other end to support the energy east pipeline, not to go and build it, but just show support for it. The signs that would have sent to the oil and gas industries and the natural resources sector would have been huge, but by voting that down and subsequently the actions that followed, there is zero confidence in the oil and gas sector.

If the minister feels that because two pipelines have been approved that is the answer to everything, it is not. We need more than just that. Those will not be built overnight. We need more and Albertans need more.

Job Losses in the Energy SectorGovernment Orders

7:15 p.m.

Conservative

Earl Dreeshen Conservative Red Deer—Mountain View, AB

Mr. Chair, unfortunately we cannot drive through Red Deer or central Alberta without seeing abandoned office buildings, commercial real estate signs, and many of those who are in business have cut their staff drastically.

We have situations where there are notable increases in suicide, substance abuse, domestic abuse. These are the people's stories that I think have to be brought out. As we have expanded and talked to all members in our community, these are the things we are hearing.

Could the member please expand upon some of the solutions that we think can be done to help those individuals, and other stories that he has heard in his travels?