Madam Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise as a Quebecker and a Canadian to take part in this emergency debate, which the member for Lakeland got off to a good start.
We are debating an urgent matter of national interest. We are facing an economic, financial, energy, and constitutional crisis because of the current government's poor decisions. Yes, I have previously risen in the House to endorse Canadian oil, and I will continue to do so because I am proud of Canadian oil. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for everyone in the House, and especially not for our Prime Minister. I said “our Prime Minister” because in the event of a national crisis such as the one facing our country, the Prime Minister must act on behalf of all Canadians. It is his duty to tackle this issue head-on and to firmly defend the pipeline. Unfortunately, he does not believe in Canadian oil and does not like it, any more than he likes this industry's workers.
Not so long ago, on January 12, 2017, at a town hall meeting in Calgary, the Prime Minister had this to say about Alberta oil:
“We need to phase them out.”
The person who thinks we should be phasing out Canadian oil is the one who is supposed to be promoting the project. That is our current Prime Minister. When he goes to British Columbia, Alberta, and all around the world to talk about Canadian oil, does he have any credibility? No. That is what got us into this mess. The running back is carrying a basketball down the field instead of a football. He is not a fan of Canadian oil. Well, that is too bad, because he is the Prime Minister.
The Trans Mountain project is a good project. It balances the environment and the economy and ensures Canada's prosperity. Let us not forget that it is the safest, cheapest, and greenest way to transport oil from one place to another. We are talking about Albertan oil from the oil sands, one of our country's greatest resources. However, if this great resource is trapped in our country, then it cannot be used for the benefit of all Canadians. That is why we have to sell it overseas.
We are very pleased that Keystone XL can move forward. We would have liked energy east to move forward. The Trans Mountain project could give us access to the Pacific coast. This project has been in the works for a while; it would bring $7.4 billion in economic spinoffs and put 15,000 Canadians to work for many years. It is profitable for us, but, most importantly, it has the support and backing of the first nations. The pipeline passes through 43 indigenous nations, and they are all in agreement. Not only do they agree, but they are also partners in the project. They are partners in prosperity. We must commend this initiative. We must support the first nations. However, what is the government doing? It says that Alberta oil must be phased out. This is why the project is not moving forward.
It started off well. On January 11, 2017, the premier of British Columbia at the time, Christy Clark, expressed her support for this project. Unfortunately, another government was elected, and this minority government joined forces with radical Green Party members. They are currently holding a project hostage that represents billions of dollars for Canadians and could be very profitable for 43 indigenous nations in Alberta and British Columbia.
We have known for 10 months that there was sand in the gears—no pun intended. We knew that there was water in the gas, an expression that suits this debate quite well. The new government, which was taken hostage by Green Party extremists, is sidelining the project. What did the Prime Minister, who does not believe in Canadian oil, do in the meantime? He said that the project had to move forward, that everything would be fine, and that the Liberals believed in it. We asked for emergency debates, among other things. We were told that everything would be fine and that the project would get done. However, here we are today, in the face of a major constitutional and economic crisis that is the direct result of the Prime Minister's inaction over the past 10 months. This is unacceptable.
Unfortunately, this is consistent with the Prime Minister's sorry track record. What did the Prime Minister do? First, he said no to the northern gateway project. He adopted policies that killed energy east and now he is jeopardizing the Trans Mountain pipeline. There is no guarantee it will go forward. As they say in baseball, “three strikes and you're out”. The problem is that he will not be out but will remain in office for another 18 months. Until then Canada will suffer as a result of his bad economic and business decisions.
This problem speaks to other realities, such as the constitutional battle that is being waged. Of course, we recognize that the provinces have a say. In fact, British Columbia said yes in January 2017 and things got under way. However, now another government has decided to do things differently. We also realize that, ultimately, it is up to the federal government to decide whether the project will go forward. We respect the provincial authorities, but the provincial authorities must also respect the fact that the federal government is the one that decides whether this type of project will be carried out.
Must I remind my fellow Quebeckers and all Canadians that harnessing the full potential of our natural resources allows our country to use an equalization regime? That means that the provinces that develop the full potential of their natural resources help the other provinces that are not doing so, that do not have the means to do so, that do not want to do so, or that do not have the natural resources to do so. As a result, provinces like mine receive a lot of equalization payments, too many equalization payments. Perhaps one day, we will be proud enough to do away with that, but for now, we are receiving such payments. If we want to continue to receive equalization payments, we must continue to develop our natural resources to their full potential. The Trans Mountain project will allow Alberta to develop its full potential and bring billions of dollars in foreign money to Canada, money that can be redistributed to other provinces.
In Quebec, there are people who believe in oil, who believe in pipelines, who know that pipelines are the best way to transport oil. They are the cleanest, most cost-effective, most environmentally responsible, and above all safest way to transport oil. As proof, there are 2,000 kilometres of pipelines criss-crossing Quebec. There are nine pipelines running under the St. Lawrence. Just over seven years ago, Quebec built a pipeline from Lévis to Montreal, a distance of exactly 243 kilometres. Exactly 689 property owners gave their consent, support, and collaboration for the project to proceed. The pipeline was built and has been working fine since 2012. It has been operating for nearly six years now, and things are going smoothly. We have never had reports of a catastrophe of any kind. Have we had complaints from the nearly 700 owners of the properties on which the pipeline runs? Have we heard any whining from them? Have we seen them mount illegal protests? No, because everything is going swimmingly. This goes to show that Canada has what it takes to do big things. Quebec has what it takes to do big things. Sadly, due to the overly strict new regulations adopted by this government, the energy east project was called off, because the proponent was fed up with this government piling rule upon rule. That project would have created a lot of wealth in Quebec, a lot of wealth in Canada, and a lot of wealth in New Brunswick.
Now more than ever, the government needs to start acting in the national interest of all Canadians. The problem is that the guy carrying the ball is not a believer. A Prime Minister who says “we need to phase it out” about Alberta oil may not be the best person to sell Canadians on it, never mind convince British Columbians and their government that it is in all Canadians' best interest. The Trans Mountain project must go ahead.