House of Commons Hansard #288 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was moratorium.

Topics

Motions in AmendmentOil Tanker Moratorium ActGovernment Orders

1:20 p.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague from Lakeland referenced the decision to abort the energy east pipeline and blamed the government for that. Energy east was being built by the same company, TransCanada, that is also building Keystone. It made a business decision that two pipelines, both shipping bitumen diluted with diluent for export, could not be supported by the market. It picked one, and it picked Keystone. Would my colleague not agree?

Motions in AmendmentOil Tanker Moratorium ActGovernment Orders

1:20 p.m.

Conservative

Shannon Stubbs Conservative Lakeland, AB

Energy is the most regulated industry in Canada by all three levels of government. The fiscal regulatory decisions set by governments are the business decisions made by energy companies in this country. TransCanada had committed to proceed with the energy east pipeline until one month before, after extended delays, rule changes, disbanding the panels, re-appointments, and a last-minute condition of applying downstream emissions to that project. That is why TransCanada abandoned the energy east pipeline, which was the only opportunity into the east coast for shipping to the European market and for securing Canada's domestic supply. That is exactly because of the Liberals' decisions.

Motions in AmendmentOil Tanker Moratorium ActGovernment Orders

1:20 p.m.

Liberal

Peter Fonseca Liberal Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON

Madam Speaker, I am pleased and proud to take part in today's discussions about implementing an oil tanker moratorium—

Motions in AmendmentOil Tanker Moratorium ActGovernment Orders

1:20 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Motions in AmendmentOil Tanker Moratorium ActGovernment Orders

1:20 p.m.

NDP

The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes

Order. There is some going back and forth. When speakers had the floor a while ago, they were provided with respect and other people were able to hear what they were saying. I would request the same for the member for Mississauga East—Cooksville.

Resuming debate, the member for Mississauga East—Cooksville.

Motions in AmendmentOil Tanker Moratorium ActGovernment Orders

1:20 p.m.

Liberal

Peter Fonseca Liberal Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON

Madam Speaker, again, I am proud and pleased to take part in today's discussions about implementing an oil tanker moratorium on British Columbia's northern coast. Canada has the largest coastline in the world, and we are so proud of it.

I had an opportunity here to listen to the debate and hear from the opposition parties. What I heard was a lot of selective information toward building a pipeline and toward tankers, or with regard to the environment, the history, and the moratorium that has been in place on the coast since 1972.

We have taken a fair and balanced approach to this. Through our extensive consultation, we have been able to land in the right spot, when we think about what is in the best interests of Canada and Canadians.

I would like to take this opportunity to highlight the efforts made by the government and its partners to reach the decision to implement this moratorium. It is important to remember that, with this bill, the Government of Canada is honouring its commitment to Canadians. This was a commitment we made in the 2015 election campaign. Formalizing this moratorium and improving marine safety are among the priorities set out in the mandate letter from the Prime Minister to the Minister of Transport.

We believe it is essential to protect the environment, in this case a particularly sensitive environment in northern B.C., while also developing a strong economy. It is just as important to note that the decision to impose this moratorium is the outcome of vast consultation. I understand that over 75 meetings took place through the Ministry of Transport and the minister's office, as well as committee meetings, and I will talk about some of the other initiatives that were taken for consultation. Our government is committed to pursuing its objectives in a spirit of renewed collaboration. I want to thank the minister and the committee for all the work they did with their stakeholder engagement.

We firmly believe it is essential to maintain and enhance our relationships with the provincial, territorial, and municipal governments, as well as with indigenous groups, in order to bring about concrete positive changes. We therefore undertook these consultations when the government first announced its intentions to adopt a legislative framework to formalize the moratorium.

The first meetings were held in British Columbia, where the minister brought together representatives from non-governmental organizations dedicated to environmental protection, representatives from first nations, and representatives from industry and local communities on the ground. Discussions were held across the country, in Iqaluit, St. John's, Montreal, and Calgary, to name only a few of the locations.

It was important to bring together Canadians with differing opinions on the moratorium. The government took care to include various stakeholders from different settings, namely the marine community, the oil and gas industry, environmental groups, provincial and municipal governments, Canadians from across the country, and first nations. In total, Transport Canada organized 16 round tables and over 30 bilateral and multilateral meetings in order to involve all Canadians in improving marine safety, which includes discussions about the moratorium on oil tankers.

With the aim of extending the discussion further and enabling those who were unable to attend those meetings, because we have such a vast land, Transport Canada set up a web portal. Many letters from Canadians were also forwarded to the department. Overall, nearly 5,000 users visited the online portal. Of them, 330 provided comments or submitted documents. Most of those comments were about the moratorium that is the subject of today's debate. It is obvious that Canadians wanted to be heard, and they were heard. I can assure members that this was done. We not only listened very closely to the concerns of our partners and Canadians about the matter, but we also took steps to meet their expectations.

A number of stakeholders expressed concerns, for example, about the moratorium's potential impact on transporting supplies for the communities and industries on British Columbia's coast.

Resupply is vital to their welfare. It does not matter if it is a tourism operation or any other type of business employing many people in the area, we want to ensure that they continue to be viable and have the resources required for their communities and the industries there. They will continue to receive those shipments of petroleum products. The government ensured that the proposed legislation would allow resupply to continue. We set a threshold of 12,500 tonnes of crude oil and persistent oil in a tanker's cargo spaces. The resupply of communities and industries would therefore not be affected by this proposed moratorium.

Some stakeholders clearly pointed out that they also want to ensure that the moratorium is transformed into action by an act of parliament. That is precisely what we are doing here today. Their voices are being heard. We are doing the people's work.

During the Canada-wide discussions, concerns were raised about marine safety. The stakeholders found that the Canadian Coast Guard lacks resources, including salvage tugs. Stakeholders also raised concerns about the time required to respond to an incident. The oceans protection plan will allay those concerns by giving the Canadian Coast Guard a greater role when it comes to patrols and monitoring the marine environment. The Coast Guard is also going to have increased towing capacity. Through the oceans protection plan, we have created a world-leading marine safety system that improves responsible shipping and protects Canada's waters, including new preventative and response measures. We are investing $1.5 billion into priority areas for ocean protection, investing in oil spill cleanup research and methods to ensure that decisions taken in emergencies are evidence based.

A number of stakeholders also noted that there could be more involvement from the local community and emergency responders. We thought that was great. For that reason, the government is taking steps to further and better coordinate the federal emergency response plan. With greater resource capacity from coast to coast to coast, the government is ready to work with local communities and indigenous groups. New indigenous community response teams will also be established, with training in search and rescue, environmental response, and incident command.

Canada is a maritime nation that was built on a safe, secure marine transport system. The government is dedicated to developing a long-term agenda for marine transport that demonstrates that a healthy environment and a sustainable economy can go hand in hand. In order to implement this long-term agenda, our government is asking for Canadians' opinions and taking concrete action based on that feedback. The government is going to continue working with stakeholders by moving forward with implementing those marine initiatives, including the moratorium, and also of course the oceans protection plan.

In short, the moratorium on oil tankers is a major initiative for protecting British Columbia's coast. This is the right thing to do. A moratorium has been in place since 1972. We have consulted extensively. We have heard from all groups. We do not take this approach and these decisions lightly. These are very serious decisions. We understand the economy and the environment and how they can go hand in hand. Because of that, I implore all those in this House to support this bill and this initiative to ensure that our coastlines are kept safe from spills and we can continue to protect our environment, while also understanding the economy that is vital to the livelihood of all Canadians. I appreciate this opportunity to speak to something that is so important to our country.

Motions in AmendmentOil Tanker Moratorium ActGovernment Orders

1:30 p.m.

Conservative

Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB

Madam Speaker, it is very clear that this is not about safety; it is only about killing northern gateway and Alberta jobs. From Kitimat to open sea, the very narrowest channel is 1,480 metres, which we say is not safe. However, bringing ships under the Second Narrows Bridge in North Vancouver to Westridge where they load up on fuel is 140 metres. This is an area where we are going to bring in more ships, thankfully for Kinder Morgan. Why is it safe to bring ships through a 140-metre narrow passage, but not through 1,480 metres?

Motions in AmendmentOil Tanker Moratorium ActGovernment Orders

1:30 p.m.

Liberal

Peter Fonseca Liberal Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON

Madam Speaker, the member should look at history and understand that this moratorium has been in place since 1972. There is a reason for that.

We believe in science. We believe in an evidence-based approach on this side of the aisle, which is why we have done our homework. The member and the member's party should do their homework, look at history, and understand the reasons for this decision.

Motions in AmendmentOil Tanker Moratorium ActGovernment Orders

1:30 p.m.

NDP

Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC

Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Mississauga East—Cooksville for his speech. We share in his belief that there should be a tanker ban on the north coast. We appreciate that this proposed legislation is moving forward, although we believe there are a lot of holes in it.

The member talked about doing the right thing and evidence-based decision-making. However, we know we have not figured out how to clean up raw bitumen. Therefore, I have huge concerns, and I hope the member can square some things.

The Prime Minister said, when the ban was first announced, that “crude oil supertankers just have no place on B.C.’s north coast.” Well, if the member had done his homework, he would realize that we do not know how to clean up raw bitumen and that we have huge risks on the south coast. Therefore, how can supertankers have no place on B.C.'s north coast, but they have a place on B.C.'s south coast and they want to increase tanker traffic sevenfold?

The member can maybe explain to southern coastal British Columbians why their jobs, their environment, are going to be at risk. I would like him to square things up.

Motions in AmendmentOil Tanker Moratorium ActGovernment Orders

1:30 p.m.

Liberal

Peter Fonseca Liberal Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON

Madam Speaker, it comes back again to being fair and balanced. We have heard from the Conservatives on their approach and what they believe. We have now heard from the NDP.

We have taken the approach of consulting with Canadians, listening to everyone, looking at the best evidence and information that is out there for us, and understanding that with Kinder Morgan we are twinning a line. There are already tankers there. There is no moratorium in place, unlike the northern B.C. coast. Also, the member is right. It would mean one more tanker per day that would come into those waters.

Motions in AmendmentOil Tanker Moratorium ActGovernment Orders

1:35 p.m.

Conservative

Kelly Block Conservative Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK

Madam Speaker, I heard the member say that the Liberals were doing the people's work, that they were ready to work with local communities and indigenous peoples, and that they have consulted extensively with all people. However, we know that this was written into the minister's mandate letter long before the Liberals ever introduced the bill and had done any consultations.

When we asked members who came and presented at committee, they said they had not been consulted. These were the members who may have supported the moratorium, and those who did not. Therefore, I would like the member to explain how he can make the kinds of statements he did when we heard from every witness that they had not been consulted.

Motions in AmendmentOil Tanker Moratorium ActGovernment Orders

1:35 p.m.

Liberal

Peter Fonseca Liberal Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON

Madam Speaker, it is rich for that member and her party to talk about consultation when they would drive everything straight through without listening to anybody.

I can tell the member that there have been 75 meetings, 25 round tables, a web portal, and over 5,000 submissions, 330 coming directly to the ministry. From coast to coast to coast, meetings took place.

Motions in AmendmentOil Tanker Moratorium ActGovernment Orders

1:35 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Motions in AmendmentOil Tanker Moratorium ActGovernment Orders

1:35 p.m.

Liberal

Peter Fonseca Liberal Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON

I think the member has a little amnesia from the time that the Conservatives were in government. Therefore, I reject their approach, and I will continue with the approach that our government has taken, which is one of consultation with all groups.

Motions in AmendmentOil Tanker Moratorium ActGovernment Orders

1:35 p.m.

NDP

The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes

Once again, I remind members that when someone has the floor to respect that person's ability to speak without interruption. I know it is Monday and people are anxious to get through the week, but I would remind them to afford that respect to whomever has the floor.

Resuming debate, the hon. member for Calgary Shepard.

Motions in AmendmentOil Tanker Moratorium ActGovernment Orders

1:35 p.m.

Conservative

Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to be joining the debate on this, but I think the bill has the wrong name. It is called the “oil tanker moratorium act” when it should basically be called the “pipeline moratorium act”. That is really what it is all about. It is not about cancelling the ability of tankers to move through a certain region of northern British Columbia. In fact, they will be able to move 100 kilometres off the coast, as they have been doing all along. It has put the last and final nail into the northern gateway project, and every single other potential pipeline project that might go through northern British Columbia.

There are a few points I will raise to add to this debate, including a letter I have from Prasad Panda, a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, who is also the member for the provincial riding of Calgary-Foothills. In it, he notes a couple of discrepancies. He notes that Bill C-48 is a flawed piece of legislation, mainly because it contradicts the government's own free trade agreement that it signed.

There are two points that he makes in the letter. He writes that in that free trade agreement, article 301 states, “A Province shall not adopt or maintain any measure that restricts or prevents the movement of goods across provincial or territorial boundaries.” This is what the B.C. NDP is doing to try to kill off Kinder Morgan by harassing it through legal and regulatory means to try to put an end to that project. They are trying to end that and the hundreds of thousands of jobs in the energy sector, both in my hometown of Calgary, which depends on it, and also across Edmonton and a whole bunch of smaller communities across Alberta and Saskatchewan.

With regard to my second point, he writes, “The Government of Canada shall not adopt or maintain any measure that unduly restricts or prevents the movement of goods across provincial or territorial boundaries.” I think we can make a fine argument here that restricting tanker traffic off a coast like the northern British Columbia coast is that type of restriction on the movement through a territory that the British Columbia government claims as its own. It has a certain amount of environmental regulations that it can or it seems to want to apply. It is interesting that it only wants to apply it in the north, not in the south, when 95% of all tanker traffic happens to be in the southern part of British Columbia.

This particular member of the legislative assembly, a fine gentleman, wrote quite a long letter to the chair of the committee that reviewed this piece of legislation. He also brought to the attention of that committee that this ban, this supposed oil tanker moratorium on pipelines, would be like “banning ships from moving through the Welland Canal or using the port at Trois-Rivières”. It would be like “denying rail and truck access to the Michelin Tire factory in Pictou County”, like “detouring all the traffic on the Trans-Canada Highway and driving it down 92 Avenue in Port Kells”, like “taking traffic on Highway 400 and running [it] all down Weston Road in Toronto”, and like “stopping OC Transpo service to Kanata or GO service to Streetsville.” It would be the same principle. It is not science based, not evidence based; it is the random cutting off of the transportation of goods, people, and natural resources for political purposes.

There is absolutely no reason for it. As far as I know, there have been no spills in British Columbia. Members may want to correct me on that, but I do not know of any spills that have happened off the coast of British Columbia that would make it necessary for us to pass this particular piece of legislation.

I also note that in this legislation, the government is giving itself an exemption under clause 6 that basically states,

for the purpose of community or industry resupply or is otherwise in the public interest.

Therefore, if for any reason whatsoever the government believes it should provide an exemption for the import and movement of tanker traffic, it has a complete exemption. There is no real reporting standard there. All it would have to do is make a publication requirement that states,

the Minister must make it accessible to the public on the Internet or by any other means that he or she considers appropriate

I wonder what the minister will think is appropriate when the government provides the exemption. We can imagine how hard the advocates for communities, companies, and tanker companies will push the minister to provide them with particular exemptions and how sought after those will be.

I like Yiddish proverbs, and I have one. It states, “Heaven and hell can both be had in this world.” They can also be had through government policy and legislation. The principle is to protect the environment. That is the window dressing that the Liberals have put on this anti-pipeline bill. However, what they are actually doing when they repeat “the environment, energy, and natural resources”, two sides of the same coin, is only focusing on one part of this. That is their single focus on this point. It is is supposedly the environment, when we know, because of the details of this bill, it will do no such thing. Tanker traffic will simply be moved further to the west. It is not achieving any goals that the government has set for itself. There is no similar ban on any oil tanker traffic anywhere along Canada's other coasts.

Do those environments matter less? Do the beaches in Prince Edward Island matter less than those in northern British Columbia? Do the coasts matter less in Quebec? Do the coasts matter less in Ontario? I do not think that is the case, but I do not see tanker bans being imposed. I do not see pipeline bans being imposed. That is what leads me to say that this particular piece of legislation is all about northern gateway. It is to kill it off, and that is what the government intends to do through this particular piece of legislation.

The tankers that go through the southern part of British Columbia right now are in the 80,000 to 120,000 dead weight tonnage. If this were truly about tanker traffic, and there were worries about how many of these tankers are moving through a particular geographic region, then the regulatory process would be simplified to ensure the maximum size tankers could actually come through different channels as safely as possible.

If the government wanted to do it that way, it would ensure that ultra-large crude carriers, ULCCs, were able to navigate certain regions, doing so safely, with the necessary tugboats to pull them out in case they have security problems. It would not impose a random ban on geographic areas, pushing tankers further out into the ocean. That does not achieve any environmental goal I could easily name. It would also kill off economic jobs that northern gateway and other pipeline projects could provide in the future.

What it actually would do is sterilize an entire region of northern British Columbia from any type of development in the future. It would basically ensure that no company would ever propose a new pipeline project running through any of those communities, regardless of how many indigenous communities support it, regardless of how many of them are onside.

As the member for Lakeland has said, there are many indigenous communities that would depend on these energy and natural resource jobs of the future. Over 500 communities all across Canada depend either on energy or natural resources jobs.

When oil, natural gas, coal, or any type of mineral is extracted, it has to be moved to a market. It does no good to sit on a large pile here at home. It has to be moved to the buyer. That is done through a port, through the rail system, and through tankers. Those are the requirements of ensuring that the economy is looked after, and that is what the government is failing to do with Bill C-48.

This bill would kill off any future pipeline projects. It sends another chilling signal to the business community in Canada that we are not open for business. We have had the largest flight of capital from the natural resources sector over the past two and a half years. We are at the lowest level since 2010, and it just continues.

Energy east was killed off by the government. Northern gateway was killed off by the government. The government neglected Pacific Northwest LNG. It has neglected Alberta's energy sector. It has done everything possible to ensure that every single new piece of red tape would strangle the industry, and it has done a great job at it. This is one thing the government has been quite exceptional at, strangling the industry and putting tens of thousands of Alberta energy workers out of work permanently, with no reasonable expectation to return to work in the field of their speciality, in the field where they have spent years obtaining their education and working professionally.

Back home in Alberta, we have spent a generation trying to convince people to move to Alberta in the first place. British Columbia is beautiful, but we just wanted people to stop in Alberta and have a professional career with us. We spent a generation convincing people to move there, but we also spent a generation convincing young Albertans, men and women, that it was worth getting into the energy sector because there would be jobs well into the future and they could work anywhere internationally. They are not going to have that.

Bill C-48 is a nail in the coffin of every single future pipeline project. Every company that is even thinking about running a pipeline through northern British Columbia, or anywhere in fact, will think twice. All of their money could be lost, or there could be a random moratorium, a ban, or a cancellation of their project.

I cannot support this bill. It is another chilling signal to the business community and to energy workers in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia that the government is not on their side.

Motions in AmendmentOil Tanker Moratorium ActGovernment Orders

1:45 p.m.

Liberal

Frank Baylis Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC

Madam Speaker, a challenge with pipelines is to find a balance. As we have seen in the debate so far, some people are very upset that any pipeline could be built and some people want every single pipeline to be built. Our government is looking to find the right balance, as well as balancing that with the needs of the people, the economy, and the environment.

We have approved the Trans Mountain pipeline. We are also putting in a moratorium on tankers in ecologically sensitive areas.

Is there any area where the member would see a need for balance, not that this is right or wrong, but in a general sense, a balance of issues, where there could be good and bad, something we want to promote and something we do not want to promote? Does the member want us to promote every pipeline under every circumstance?

Motions in AmendmentOil Tanker Moratorium ActGovernment Orders

1:45 p.m.

Conservative

Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB

Madam Speaker, maybe the member heard my Yiddish proverb that heaven and hell can both be had in this world. I think we are experiencing the other side of that proverb, which is that government has repeatedly gotten it wrong. Trans Mountain is the only line going through. With the length of time it has taken, from the first moment the company thought it up and went through the approval process, and it is not even built yet, it has been almost as long as World War II, quite literally. That is how long. It has taken six years to get to this point. Northern gateway was cancelled. Pacific NorthWest LNG was cancelled. Energy east was cancelled.

We weep for those thousands of energy jobs that are gone. How many companies or young entrepreneurs were thinking they had new interesting projects they would like to proceed with? How many teams of young professionals out there were thinking they would propose projects but just shelved them instead? Who weeps for the jobs that were never even created?

Motions in AmendmentOil Tanker Moratorium ActGovernment Orders

1:45 p.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Madam Speaker, the Conservatives have this tendency of listing off projects where the proponents decided for market and internal reasons of their own to cancel a project. I think it was a travesty that the Liberal government gave a permit to Petronas LNG to build on Lelu Island, but the Malaysian state-owned enterprise, Petronas, decided not to proceed with LNG there. The member cannot lay that at the door of the Liberal government. I wish he could. I would respect the government more had it looked at the evidence that the Petronas LNG facility would wipe out our Skeena salmon fishery.

The same claim has been made about energy east over and over again here today. TransCanada made its own decision that it could not support it as there was not a market for two pipelines for the export of raw bitumen. Therefore, it picked Keystone, which has approvals from Canada and the U.S., although in the U.S. there are court cases still trying to stop Keystone, and I hope that they are successful.

The jobs that I would like the member for Calgary Shepard to consider are the jobs in Canada that we used to have when we had 40 refineries in this country, when we used to regard our own domestic requirements as a market instead of only creating those overseas.

Motions in AmendmentOil Tanker Moratorium ActGovernment Orders

1:50 p.m.

Conservative

Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB

Madam Speaker, on the refining capacity in Canada, it is true that a lot of refineries have started to close down, but it is for economic reasons. There is opposition to a carbon tax on large emitters. It happens to be the refineries and upgraders that are some of the largest emitters. If we want to refine the product, it is not free, either in GHG emissions or carbon, or NOx and SOx, as we call them. It is not free. Either it gets done in Canada or it does not. When we impose huge regulatory costs, when we impose a carbon tax, when we basically wrap a project up in so much red tape that the people who are proposing it on behalf of shareholders and other Canadians who are investing in it to get a return, we are telling them not to do it as they will not get their money out of it, and they will not be able to retire on this investment.

Motions in AmendmentOil Tanker Moratorium ActGovernment Orders

1:50 p.m.

Conservative

Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB

Madam Speaker, I could have asked my colleague this question any time, but I want the public to hear the answer.

The Pacific Pilotage Authority and the British Columbia Coast Pilots, some of the very best in the world, are charged with protecting our coasts. They did a full bridge simulation on bringing the ships down off the B.C. coast. They said it is so safe that ships can transit the area without tugboats. They are proposing to do two as part of the Enbridge project. Can the member tell me why that is not adequate?

Motions in AmendmentOil Tanker Moratorium ActGovernment Orders

1:50 p.m.

Conservative

Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB

Madam Speaker, the simple and easy answer is to leave it to companies, people, and entrepreneurs to innovate and find solutions to problems out in the real world. When we come before the House and consider legislation like Bill C-48, that is not a solution. It is just more red tape to kill off energy jobs.

Motions in AmendmentOil Tanker Moratorium ActGovernment Orders

1:50 p.m.

NDP

The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes

Before I go to the next speaker, I will remind him that I will have to interrupt him and he will be able to continue his speech when we resume deliberations on this bill after question period.

Resuming debate, the hon. member for Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola.

Motions in AmendmentOil Tanker Moratorium ActGovernment Orders

1:50 p.m.

Conservative

Dan Albas Conservative Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC

Madam Speaker, it is always an honour to participate in the debates we have in this place.

Before I write debate speeches, I generally like to do a bit of background research. This can often be very revealing. This is a very important debate, important for many different reasons, a few of which I am going to touch upon today.

When I did my background research for this bill, I came across a Globe and Mail article from 2015. The headline read that the Prime Minister's promises to aboriginal people are “feared to be unachievable”. I then read a different headline from one year later, this time from APTN National News. This headline read that the Prime Minister “backs away from election pledge on First Nation veto”. We all know that is exactly what the Prime Minister has done because that is what he likes to do. He likes to promise things that he generally has no intent to deliver, because promises look good and promises sound good. When one's image is everything to one as a politician, this is where one ends up.

Why do I mention these things? I mention them because here we are with the Prime Minister proposing an oil tanker ban off the west coast of British Columbia. Actually, no, that is not correct. The Prime Minister is actually proposing to increase the tanker traffic off the west coast. It is the north coast where he is proposing to ban all oil tankers. Some see that as a contradiction. Some have told me that they view this bill as the Prime Minister acknowledging that there is a risk to tanker safety, and that is why he is proposing this ban.

However, some of the same people question if the Prime Minister acknowledged this risk in one place, why is this risk then being ignored in another? This is why those who oppose pipelines are so enraged with the Prime Minister, because they believe he says one thing while doing another.

It is not unlike the environment minister. Her favourite talking point is that the environment and the economy go hand in hand. The minister can continue to make this comment hundreds of times a year, but for those who oppose pipelines, they will never see them as supporting the environment. That comment enrages them, which at the same time, is politically damaging for the Liberals, a point that I suspect many Liberal members of Parliament from B.C. know all too well.

Back to the subject of this debate, the proposed tanker ban. We know another one of the Liberal government's favourite talking points, and also an election promise, was to make science-based decision-making. Let us look at some of the science from a safety perspective related to tanker traffic off the coast of northern British Columbia.

Can the Western Canada Marine Response Corporation provide spill responses in this geographic region? Yes, it can. Can the Pacific Pilotage Authority, a crown corporation, provide the same world-respected marine pilots to navigate these vessels in that very same region? Again, yes, it can. Could companies like Seaspan provide multiple tugboats to assist with docking, as it currently does in other parts of British Columbia? Yes, it could do that.

Has there ever been an oil spill in the area from an oil tanker that has been under the supervision of these service providers? No, never, not in 50 years. There is a perfect service and safety record. I mention these things because from a science and safety-based approach, tanker safety can be safely provided in this region. To be clear, I will commend the efforts the Liberal government has taken to increase marine spill response in the event that the Trans Mountain pipeline will be built.

The bottom line from my perspective is that the tanker ban seems to be entirely politically motivated because the science and the safety are proven in that there has been no tanker oil spill in 50 years. Our system of tanker safety has multiple overrides. Ultimately, in this case, this is a political decision, and political decisions are the reality of governing.

I merely point out that this is a political decision because some want to see this as a contradiction from a Prime Minister who wants to increase tanker traffic in one area of B.C., and then claims it is unsafe and bans it in another. This contradiction from the Prime Minister can ultimately undermine tanker safety. Given that we have a Prime Minister who is doing everything he can, at least in words, to build the Trans Mountain pipeline, I felt that adding clarity to the safety question would help the Prime Minister get the Trans Mountain pipeline built. I am certain he will want to thank me for that later.

Why should we care about this proposed pipeline, then? Yes, there is a huge loss of jobs, investment, and revenue for all, but it is more than that. I am fully aware many support this tanker ban, much as many oppose the building of the Trans Mountain pipeline. Indeed, that opposition is very much alive in this place as well. I submit it exists even within the Liberal caucus.

However, getting back to the reason for the speech, this Prime Minister has made serious promises to Canada's first nations, and here is a secret I am going to share with this place: some first nation communities fully support resource development, because they recognize the opportunity. They see how jobs and employment can help transform a community. They know with their own-sourced revenue they can build things that often add to the social fabric of their community.

We often talk about the rights of indigenous peoples and their communities, but what about the rights of those indigenous communities that support and want resource development within their traditional territories? Why are their rights so often ignored?

In this case, we even have a lawsuit. At the inception of this lawsuit, 30 different first nation bands joined together to stop this tanker ban from going forward. They call this proposed tanker ban an unjustified infringement of their aboriginal rights and title. They point out that this proposed tanker plan would thwart their ability to create economic support for their community through the development of an oil export facility. It is hard to argue with that fact, because it is true. Does anyone in this place disagree with these first nations communities?

Again, I ask why these first nations' rights are being ignored by the Liberal government. We know it is not about safety. We know we actually have a world-class response when it comes to oil safety. We know it can be done safely and we know first nations have that right.

I think I am out of time.

Motions in AmendmentOil Tanker Moratorium ActGovernment Orders

1:55 p.m.

NDP

The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes

The hon. member will have three minutes remaining when this subject continues after question period.