House of Commons Hansard #285 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was environment.

Topics

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

Order. Order. I know that all hon. members believe in free speech, but it does not mean we can all freely speak at the same time. We need to hear the questions and the answers whether we like them or not.

The right hon. Prime Minister has the floor.

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, on the issue of this particular advocacy group, it is important to highlight that it was also funded under the Harper government.

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Regina—Qu'Appelle Saskatchewan

Conservative

Andrew Scheer ConservativeLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has signed off on a grant that will go specifically to hire an assistant who will “work directly with [a provincial organizer] and the field organizing team to help our network stop the Kinder Morgan pipeline....”

Does he not realize that he is funding the very groups that are protesting against the project that is in the national interest?

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

As I said, Mr. Speaker, the previous Harper government also funded this organization, and on this side of the House, we will not brand Canadians as “eco-terrorists”. We will not remove funding from advocacy organizations because we as a government happen to disagree with them.

We remember what that previous government did. Canadians do not want to go back to those terrible years.

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Regina—Qu'Appelle Saskatchewan

Conservative

Andrew Scheer ConservativeLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister just said will come as a great surprise to the member for Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame. There is nobody who believes that the Prime Minister is committed to free speech when he punishes all those in this country who do not agree with his personal point of view.

What we are talking about here is not the principle of free speech. Yes, we all agree on that. We are talking about taking tax dollars from people who are out of work in the energy sector and giving it to people who are trying to block a project in the national interest. That is shameful and Conservatives will stop that.

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, once again we see—

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

Order. This is debate; it is not cacophony.

The right hon. Prime Minister.

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Liberal

Justin Trudeau Liberal Papineau, QC

Once again, Mr. Speaker, we see the true colours of these Harper Conservatives shining through. The commitment that this government has made to stand up and defend reproductive rights and the rights of women at every single opportunity is one that sticks in their craw.

We will not apologize for ensuring that women's rights are protected across this country.

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

NDP

Guy Caron NDP Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC

Mr. Speaker, I feel awful, because I can see that the Prime Minister is not reading from a sheet of paper on this issue.

I would like to address a very serious concern, which is that the government's review of the Kinder Morgan pipeline project was rigged from the get-go. We are worried, because we know that Kinder Morgan lobbied the government more than 36 times in 2016 to try to get the green light on this project.

Our leader, Jagmeet Singh, and I have asked the Prime Minister for full disclosure of all the documents related to the approval. Will he agree to be fully transparent and release those documents?

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Liberal

Justin Trudeau Liberal Papineau, QC

Mr. Speaker, we recognize that under the previous government, the approach of not understanding how important it is to properly consult and engage in acquiring social licence needed to be fixed. That is why we actually added additional steps to make the process more rigorous. In fact, we extended the consultation process to ensure we were meeting and exceeding our responsibility to engage with and consult indigenous peoples. This is something Conservatives always failed to do.

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

NDP

Guy Caron NDP Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC

Mr. Speaker, I believe that the Prime Minister does not realize just how serious the situation is.

Once again, while his government was probably genuinely consulting first nations about the project, his senior officials were talking to the public service in an attempt to obtain a legal basis for saying “yes” and expedite the project's approval. Indigenous legal experts were troubled by these directives.

Will the Prime Minister commit to releasing all the documentation, and I did say all of the pertinent documentation, associated with the assessment of the Kinder Morgan project, yes or no?

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, in the House we all know that the process put in place by Stephen Harper was not working. That is why we added steps to the process to ensure that consultations with indigenous peoples and the rigorous study of this project are carried out properly.

We know that the only way to forge a consensus across the country, not unanimity but a consensus, is to engage and and listen to Canadians from all backgrounds. That is exactly what we did, and that is why we were able to approve this pipeline.

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

NDP

Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC

Mr. Speaker, breaking news: the Liberal Party of Canada has become the oil company party of Canada. While the Liberals were pretending to hold consultations, the CEO of Kinder Morgan was never concerned, because he knew full well that the decision had already been made. The consultations were a smokescreen. The Liberals laughed in face of the indigenous peoples, scientists, and the public.

Can the Prime Minister be transparent? Can he commit to tabling all the documentation on the Kinder Morgan approval process?

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie has made it abundantly clear that he could never accept this pipeline regardless of the conditions that have been put in place.

We approached Canadians in order to be sure to extend the consultations and establish a more rigorous process. Even the hon. member's leader said he would be open to supporting this pipeline. That is precisely the type of people we are bringing together, not those, like the member across the way, who still believe that we have to choose between the environment and the economy.

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

NDP

Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC

Mr. Speaker, there is no way he even believes that anymore.

This whole fiasco of an approval process is looking more rigged than a Russian election. The Prime Minister promised the people of Alberta a credible process. He broke that promise. He promised the people of British Columbia meaningful consultation with first nations. He broke that promise too. Many people suspected the fix was in from the beginning, that the decision had already been made, and now we have the proof from leaked papers from his own administration.

If the Prime Minister wants to regain a scintilla of trust that he once commanded in the country, will he reveal all the Kinder Morgan papers once and for all?

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, what we actually did in this process was add additional steps, a more rigorous process to a process we all recognize was terribly flawed under the previous Conservative government. We extended the consultation with indigenous peoples. I would ask the member opposite, outside of the House, to explain why he is ignoring the many indigenous communities that are in support of this pipeline, that are asking for these pipelines to be built, to ensure their future and their kids' futures. There are many indigenous Canadians that feel this is a good path forward. Why are those members ignoring them?

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Conservative

Alain Rayes Conservative Richmond—Arthabaska, QC

Mr. Speaker, an organization that works against the natural resources industry is currently looking for an employee to help stop the Kinder Morgan pipeline. Why is that organization currently receiving a federal grant?

Will the Prime Minister stop playing games with Canadians' money by subsidizing a group that is undermining our economy and the honest workers in the natural resources sector?

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, as I said, that organization received funding from the Harper government.

On this side of the House, we will not criticize or attack organizations that do not share our values. We will ensure that all rights and laws are upheld. We know that Canadians have a diversity of approaches and opinions and that it is important to listen to them, hear what they have to say, and work with everyone so that we do not cause division, like the members opposite want to do.

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Conservative

Alain Rayes Conservative Richmond—Arthabaska, QC

Mr. Speaker, that is nonsense.

The Prime Minister needs to stop sending contradictory messages to Canada's energy sector, which employs honest workers across the country. Doing so jeopardizes well-paying jobs and drives off investors. It is time our Prime Minister showed a little leadership.

How can he defend the energy sector while using taxpayers' money to fund initiatives that undermine Kinder Morgan?

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, since the election campaign, I have been saying that Canadians know that we need to protect the environment and grow the economy at the same time. However, today, we see that there are still people who do not believe that.

The Conservatives are attacking us because we are not doing as much as they would like to move Kinder Morgan's TMX project forward, and the NDP is angry that we are moving forward with the pipeline project at all.

As usual, the Liberal Party remains focused on Canadians' concerns, and we are going to work for Canadians.

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Conservative

Shannon Stubbs Conservative Lakeland, AB

Mr. Speaker, this is about trust. The Prime Minister claims he supports the Trans Mountain expansion and the thousands of jobs it will create, but he is funding anti-energy political activists who are being hired explicitly to stop the pipeline. The Prime Minister has already driven out over $80 billion of energy investment, and now he is using taxpayer dollars to block the Trans Mountain expansion. No wonder no one believes a word he says. Why is the Prime Minister using Canadian tax dollars to block Canadian pipelines and kill Canadian jobs?

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, once again, Canadians know that protecting the environment and growing the economy must go together. The members opposite simply do not understand that. On one side of the House, they are thinking about the economy but not the environment, and that did nothing for the economy under Stephen Harper. The NDP is still wrapped up in forgetting about the economy and doing everything it can to try to protect the environment, which is not working.

Canadians know we have to move forward in a thoughtful way that brings people together, instead of demonizing—

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

The hon. member for Lakeland.