Debates of June 12th, 2018

Opposition Motion—Global Climate Change and Clean Energy Leadership

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague highlighted very well what is going on and the shift that is occurring, not just in our country but throughout the world, as it relates to moving toward renewable sources of energy, clean energy, and new ways of doing business.

The member brought up some interesting points about China that make a lot of sense. If we look at it, China is currently the world leader in renewable energies. A lot of people do not realize that China is outpacing even the U.S. in terms of bringing renewable energies online. She pointed out the numerous things going on in Canada in terms of renewable energies and putting measures in place to incentivize. I think she referenced a Globe and Mail article that I read recently, which said that for the first time, the renewable energy sector now employs more people than traditional fossil fuels.

I agree with much of what the member said, but I question why the motion is necessary. If we are already seeing all of this activity going on, and this shift is occurring not just here in Canada but throughout the world, why does the NDP think this motion is necessary?

[Sheila Malcolmson, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this motion is necessary because New Democrats are dismayed that the government is putting public money into an obsolete, old pipeline instead of removing the barriers to workers' success and expanding the renewable energy economy.

As an example, with the G7 having met just last weekend, Canada made a commitment along with its G7 partners to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies. A report that came out last week says Canada has broken that promise. It is at the bottom of the list; it funds the fossil fuel industry more than any other G7 country, and the Auditor General's report last year concluded that the government has no plans to phase out fossil fuel subsidies. This was after a bunfight of about two and a half years of trying to force the government to reveal anything about its election promise and its G7 promise to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies.

The government is talking out of both sides of its mouth. It says it is a climate leader, yet it has invested $4.5 billion in an old bitumen pipeline. It says it is for the workers and renewable energy, yet it funds the obsolete fossil fuel industry more than any other. This is the wrong direction for the environment and for the economy.

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, given that the member opposite mentioned Kinder Morgan, I am wondering what she thinks of the prospect of using Canada pension plan funds to pay off the Kinder Morgan investors, especially in light of the fact that one of the major shareholders, BlackRock, is playing a key role in funding the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

[Sheila Malcolmson, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Mr. Speaker, many of my constituents have been concerned for a very long time about the Kinder Morgan pipeline. They supported people in northern B.C. to defeat the northern gateway project, but Kinder Morgan hits very close to home. We are right in the tanker traffic path, so we see what the impacts would be.

In the last couple of weeks in my riding, people have told me that the use of Canada pension plan money as well makes it that much worse. It is unfortunate that the Liberal Party has always listened very closely to the corporate interests, including those in the States. They are lining up, and apparently have the Prime Minister's ear more than people on the ground who are working and boosting our coastal economy right now.

That Canada pension plan money would even be a consideration for the Prime Minister's investment in his old pipeline is the final straw. People at home are furious.

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to speak to the NDP motion today on what it means to be a global climate change leader and what it means to build a clean energy economy. The three points the motion puts forward to answer this question are investing in clean, renewable energy sources; putting workers at the heart of the transition; and putting an end to significant subsidies to the fossil fuel industry.

I do not want to spent too much time on the background of this motion; suffice it to say that it is all about our response to the threat of climate change. Overwhelming scientific evidence shows that climate change is happening, and it is caused by human actions. We have to act quickly and decisively around the world to minimize its effects.

We have similar debates here in the House every time the Conservatives use their opposition days to speak against the price on carbon. When I speak in those debates, the Conservatives often ask me why forest fires and floods are still happening in British Columbia after a decade of carbon pricing in that province. It is obvious that it does not work so directly. We have to act globally, and we have to act boldly. Here in Canada, we have to do our part so that we can continue to encourage countries around the world to do the same.

In Canada, we are the most wasteful nation on earth on a per capita basis when it comes to energy, water, and other environmental indicators. We can do better and we must do better. If we do not act decisively now, we will be passing on to our children a civilization suffering from rising sea levels, droughts, storms, wildfires, and other highly disruptive pressures. These are already causing mass migrations and civil unrest, and that will only intensify in future decades.

Fortunately, it is not all doom and gloom. There is a bright side to this challenge: a clear opportunity for Canada that we must seize today if we are not to be left behind. The clean tech sector is a multi-billion dollar opportunity for Canada. We have some of the most innovative companies in the world, and we must nurture them through government procurement, mentorship programs, and direct investments. This is where we should be directing our subsidy programs. We can think of what a $4.5-billion investment in putting solar panels on roofs across Canada could accomplish in terms of our carbon footprint, and that investment would create good, high-paying jobs.

I recently met an electrician in my riding who had decided to leave the oil patch in Alberta and work in his hometown. He decided that the future was in clean energy, not in oil, so he started a business in solar panel installation. He was doing quite well because of the increasing popularity of domestic solar installations. However, he pointed out that Canada lags far behind the United States in this field because there are few, if any, incentives for homeowners and business owners across the country to make the switch. It is expensive to put 20 solar panels on the roof. He pleaded with me to make the case in Ottawa for significant incentives to get the industry really going across the country. He pointed out that there are hundreds of electricians and other tradespeople like him in the oil patch who would love to come home to work, if the jobs are there, and they could be there if we went all in on these renewable technologies.

Many people do not realize how cheap these renewable technologies have become. Solar and wind power now compete on an even level with other energy sources, and in many situations they are the cheapest power sources available. Saudi Arabia, the country with the cheapest oil in the world, has shifted all new energy production to solar. The countries that adopt these technologies early will be the big economic winners in the future world of energy.

A couple of years ago, I attended the clean energy ministerial meetings in San Francisco, and the German minister there gave an impassioned speech about the shift to clean energy. He said that it was expensive for Germany to make that transition, as the Germans adopted those new technologies when they were expensive, but their investments in renewable energy companies have put them at the head of the world in that regard, and they are now reaping the economic benefits many times over as they sell their products and their expertise around the world.

China is doing the same. The Conservatives often throw up their hands and say that Canada should give up on climate action because China is producing more pollution than we are. Meanwhile, China is going all in on renewable energy, shifting away from coal. It is clearly one of the world leaders in solar technologies, and the Chinese have openly boasted about ruling the world of electric vehicles in the near future. Canada could and should be doing all it can to get in on this global market for clean tech and renewable energy. I know the government has made some tentative moves in that regard, but we need significant investment. Again, we can just think of what a $4.5-billion investment in electric vehicle infrastructure would do across Canada.

I once heard an energy expert say that the best new fuel, the fuel that would save the world, is efficiency. Efficiency is the best new fuel. As I said earlier, Canada is one of the most wasteful countries in the world on a per capita basis. We could achieve most of our climate targets and create thousands of jobs in the process through energy efficiency.

I am going to mention the ecoENERGY retrofit program here again. This program ran, on and off, from 2007 to 2012. It was first envisioned by a previous Liberal government, but it was run by the Conservative government throughout that time, so I will give credit to both parties for such a good idea. This program gave significant incentives to homeowners across the country to undertake renovations and improvements to their homes to make them more energy-efficient. It was hugely successful.

Over the life of the program, the federal government gave $934 million in grants to 640,000 households. That is almost a billion dollars, a real investment. What did Canada get in return? The participants in the program spent four billion dollars on top of the rebate, so the investment leveraged almost five times that amount. On average, participants saved 20% on utility bills after their renovations, which is a reduction of three tonnes of carbon emissions per household per year. It is a reduction of $340 million in utility bills for those who took part, and the program created thousands of good jobs.

When I talk to people from the Canadian Home Builders' Association in my riding or here in Ottawa and ask them what we can do to help their industry, they say to bring back the ecoENERGY retrofit program. I did table a private member's bill to do just that, hoping the Liberal government would take up the program, but instead it passed it off to the provinces in the pan-Canadian framework, and very few have taken it on. A huge opportunity has slipped through our fingers. We need to revive it as part of a bold new clean energy vision for our country.

This is a pivotal time for clean energy. Ceres and Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimate that there will be $12 trillion U.S. in renewable energy spending up for grabs over the next 25 years. The countries that come out ahead will be those that first develop the technologies, the thinking, and the experience, and use them to compete and grow in the global market for clean energy solutions.

I am going to Argentina this afternoon with the Minister of Natural Resources to the G20 energy meeting. The focus of this year's meeting is energy transitions. I am very interested to hear what experts and leaders from around the world will have to say about clean energy transition, and I am very interested to hear what they think of Canada's present trajectory in that future and what it could be.

The transition is coming, whether we like it or not. It is coming like a freight train. Let us seize the day and be part of it. Let us make sure our workers have good skilled jobs across the country. The jobs in renewable energy infrastructure for welders, electricians, carpenters, and metal workers are all the same jobs that we now have in the oil patch. These are good, family-supporting jobs. We need to make sure those jobs are created so that our economy can grow through this transition.

The future of the Canadian energy sector could be bright, but we have to act now and make sure we are not left behind.

[Lloyd Longfield, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is always great to hear the hon. member, a fellow biking enthusiast, talking in the House about sustainability and energy. I was struck by one of his last comments, about how the transition is coming at us like a freight train, which is how we are moving oil right now. Something we would like to do is move oil to the coast through a pipeline that is environmentally friendly, under the caps set by the Alberta government.

I wonder if the member could speak to the motion around the pipeline. We are seeing it as an important part of our transition, one third of the world's oil reserves being in Canada, opening up some economic opportunity for us so that we can develop alternative energy in Canada by using revenue from the oil line coming from Alberta.

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Mr. Speaker, first, we have to realize that this pipeline is an expansion project. It is a project that is designed to enable the expansion of Alberta oil production. Alberta oil production can go along at the present rate, more or less, now and into the future, with the pipeline infrastructure that we have. This is about expanding that. Yes, Alberta has a cap, a 100-megatonne cap. Right now, it is at 70 megatonnes, so the carbon emissions in Alberta are projected to increase by 30 megatonnes. That is going in the wrong direction, when we are desperately trying to get down to 100 megatonnes.

If we can spend $4.5 billion to buy an old pipeline, and then $10-15 billion or more to build a new pipeline, why not take that money and get Canada ready for this energy transition and move it along? A study just came out a few days ago in Nature, one of the most prestigious and respected science journals in the world. This is not the Fraser Institute. These are the top scientists in the world saying that Canada is the country most at risk for stranded assets in the fossil fuel industry.

We have to start moving very quickly away from fossil fuels and into renewables, and we have to do it now.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague on a superb speech, filled with facts, logic, and smart economics.

The Minister of Environment stands in the House day after day and says that the market for renewable energy is a $23-trillion industry. That is the sustainable energy market in wind, solar, geothermal, tidal, and all the other more environmentally sustainable forms of energy, yet the Liberal government has just announced an investment of probably about $15 billion, by the time all is done, in 20th-century technology to expand fossil fuel infrastructure.

Canada has signed on to the Paris accord, which commits us to reduce our greenhouse gas and carbon emissions below certain levels, and yet I have never heard the math by the government. With tripling the export of bitumen and expanding our fossil fuel infrastructure, which will no doubt raise the carbon emissions we are responsible for, where will the concomitant reductions come from, elsewhere in the Canadian economy, to not only balance that off but reduce our emissions? In the member's opinion, can Canada meet its obligations to the globe to reduce its carbon emissions and still expand its fossil fuel infrastructure?

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I see a minister get up in the House every time and say that this pipeline will be built, and then the next minister says that the economy and the environment go hand in hand. If that is true, then I would love to see a minister get up in the House and say that we will meet our 2030 Paris targets. It has not happened. I have not heard it. I have not seen a plan of how we are going to get there.

The government talks about things that it is doing to try to reduce our carbon footprint, and yet it invests $4.5 billion in an oil pipeline. It does not make sense. It is going in the wrong direction. This will be a big project, a big task in front of us, so we have to take those big chunks of money with which, apparently, we are now willing to buy pipelines and build pipelines, and do the things necessary to build a renewable sector, to build energy efficiency across Canadian homes and businesses, and all the things we have to do to go in the other direction.

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Edmonton Mill Woods.

I am very pleased to stand in the House today to discuss the motion of my colleague, the hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie.

I appreciate the call for Canada to be a global climate change leader. I agree, and Canada is. However, this motion fails in a number of areas, including its failure to recognize the actions the government has taken in ensuring that the environment and the economy go together as we build a clean energy economy. Our government has been steadfast in its belief that a strong economy and a clean environment go hand in hand. The NDP motion completely ignores the historic investments that the government has made through successive federal budgets that specifically address Canada's environment, coastlines, waterways, and wildlife, as well as the introduction of government legislation such as Bill C-69, Bill C-68, Bill C-57, and Bill C-74, which would further strengthen our ability to protect the environment and grow the economy in sustainable ways.

Today, I will highlight the global market for clean technologies and the enormous opportunity Canadians are already taking advantage of that is estimated to be in the trillions of dollars, with demand only increasing, and at an incredibly rapid pace.

This is an area I personally know very well, having spent the past almost 20 years as a chief executive officer and senior executive in the clean technology and renewable sector. The clean technology industry presents significant opportunities for Canadian businesses from all sectors of the economy. That is why investing in clean technology is a key component of our government's approach to promoting sustainable growth and to addressing key environmental challenges.

Our government also recognizes that clean technology is a source of good, well-paying jobs for Canadians. Therefore, when it comes to clean technology, Canada has the opportunity to be a true global leader, creating good, well-paying jobs for Canadians, while helping to meet our climate change and other important environmental goals.

Clean technologies are central to Canada’s low-carbon, globally competitive economy that provides high-quality jobs and opportunities for our middle class and those working hard to join it.

Clean technologies are by definition innovative technologies. Our government understands that innovation is a key driver of economic success. That is why we developed an innovation skills plan that will assist in making Canada a world-leading centre for innovation.

Today, clean technology already employs over 170,000 Canadians, and we sell about $26 billion annually in goods and services. Of that $26 billion, about $8 billion is exported.

Clearly, there is a strong appetite for Canadian innovation, but we have only just scratched the surface and there is so much more room to grow. That is why our government set aside more than $2.3 billion for clean technology in budget 2017. For the record, that is Canada's largest-ever public investment in this field. Prior to making this historic investment, we worked closely with industry to develop a comprehensive strategy that will successfully accelerate the development of the sector.

This $2.3 billion will support clean technology research, development, demonstration, and adoption and the scaling up of our businesses.

We know that access to financing fuels the growth of companies and provides the capital needed to hire new staff, develop products, and support sales at home and abroad, which is why we have set aside $1.4 billion in new financing for clean-tech providers. This is in addition to the $21.9 billion investment in green infrastructure, which will create jobs and position Canada for the low-carbon economy of the future.

We have also allocated $400 million to recapitalize Sustainable Development Technology Canada. This fund is helping our Canadian businesses develop world-class expertise in clean technology engineering, design, marketing, and management. To date, the fund has invested $989 million in 381 Canadian companies, supporting projects across the entire country. The funding has helped these companies develop and demonstrate new clean technologies that promote sustainable development, including those that address environmental issues, such as climate change, air quality, clean water, and clean soil.

There is also the Business Development Bank of Canada with its $700 million commitment to help clean technology producers scale up and expand globally. Since mid-January, I am pleased to say that four investments worth $40 million have been made. Through our participation in mission innovation, the Government of Canada will work with the international community to double federal investment in clean energy research and development over five years.

These are very significant and substantive investments, and we will drive for strong results. The government will carefully monitor the results of its investments both in terms of economic growth and jobs, as well as the environment.

Through a new clean-tech growth hub within Innovation Canada, the government will streamline client services, improve federal program coordination, enable tracking and reporting of clean technology results across government, and connect stakeholders to international markets. The clean growth hub is the government's focal point for all federal government supporting clean technology. Since launching in mid-January, the hub has served over 450 companies. This one-stop shop is a major innovative win for government that industry is already recognizing as a key step forward.

The 2017 Global Cleantech Innovation Index, which investigates where entrepreneurial companies are most likely to emerge over the next 10 years, ranked Canada fourth, up from seventh in 2014. Further, in January of this year, the Cleantech Group released a Global Cleantech 100 list. The list recognizes the clean-tech companies that are most likely to have significant market impact over the next five to 10 years.

Under the Harper government, Canada's share of the global clean-tech market shrunk by half. In partnership with the clean-tech industry, we have successfully turned this around. This year, a record 13 Canadian clean technology firms comprised the top 100. All the winning companies are clients of the Canadian trade commissioner service, and seven of the 13 companies are Export Development Canada customers.

We know that is only a small sampling of the innovative clean technology companies that are doing amazing work every day across the country to create economic growth, and solve our most pressing environmental challenges.

For example, in Montreal, GHGSat has developed the technology to monitor industrial greenhouse gas emissions using satellite technology. They launched their first satellite in 2016. In my own province of British Columbia, Carbon Engineering is developing a process to turn carbon dioxide in the air into a clean fuel. I could go on and on, speaking about all of the fantastic and innovative clean technology companies working across the country in so many industries and sectors of the Canadian economy.

In order to ensure their continued success, we will continue to collaborate with all stakeholders and jurisdictions across Canada to meet our climate change commitments and bring innovative and competitive clean technologies to market.

We have developed strong international linkages that promote Canadian technology as solutions to global challenges and attract private sector investment. This government is focused on scaling our great Canadian clean technology success stories, and in the process, helping to solve the world's most pressing environmental challenges.

As we move forward, the Government of Canada will continue to be a strong partner for clean technology producers. Our government is incredibly proud and impressed by the innovative work being done by the entrepreneurial women and men working in this sphere and we will continue to support them and their work, and with their success, generate future wealth for Canadians, while safeguarding the environment for future generations.

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Madam Speaker, next to hydroelectric power, nuclear energy is the next most economical greenhouse gas-free form of electrical power generation.

Given that the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission is presently known worldwide as the best nuclear agency to foster the generation of small modular reactors, together with the talent and skill of the people who work at the Chalk River Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, what amount of money will the Canadian government be investing to produce the first test small modular reactor in Canada?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, North Vancouver, BC]

Madam Speaker, the discussion obviously revolves, in very large measure, around transitioning to energy technologies that are not greenhouse gas-polluting.

Most of the discussion relates to renewables, such as solar, wind, biomass, geothermal and others. Certainly in many countries nuclear options are part of the conversation. There are many countries in the world, including countries like France, which have been been active in the fight against climate change, that utilize nuclear energy as a significant source of their baseload power.

The government continues to be supportive of the development of small-scale nuclear reactors, their potential for commercialization, and their use in the context of fighting climate change.

[Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP, Hochelaga, QC]

Madam Speaker, several speakers have mentioned that we used to have the eco-energy program, which was launched to improve the energy efficiency of buildings. It was a renovation program, but it no longer exists. I have two questions for the member.

First, why has the Liberal government not reintroduced this program, which was very popular and helped improve the situation?

Second, why is there not a similar program for new construction? Not only would this create jobs and help the environment, but it would also help lower maintenance costs of buildings. It would be a win-win situation.

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, North Vancouver, BC]

Madam Speaker, the issue around buildings is an important one. It is recognized in the context of the pan-Canadian framework. Buildings account for about 10% or 11% of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions presently.

In the context of the pan-Canadian framework, we have made a commitment to moving towards a building code for new buildings that will be net zero by 2030. We are working actively with the provinces and territories on that, as well as an enhanced retrofit building code that will enhance energy efficiency more generally.

We are making historic investments in green infrastructure, which relates to all kinds of infrastructure, including building infrastructure. Certainly in the context of the low-carbon economy fund, where we are partnering with the provinces, many of the provinces have chosen to actually utilize those funds to fund energy efficiency programs relating to buildings.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Madam Speaker, it is always difficult to debate the climate issue with the Liberal government and its representatives, such as the parliamentary secretary, because I do not doubt their good intentions. What I do not see is leadership.

The measurement is not whether the Liberals are doing more than the previous government under Stephen Harper, because of course they are. The difficulty, and it is not their fault, is that the atmosphere, the chemistry of the atmosphere, and the physics of what we are experiencing now mean that incremental change, such as is acceptable to a political class that just thinks about getting through the next election, is inadequate to ensure that we avoid catastrophic levels of climate change. Canada is not pulling our fair share of the weight at all to hit a climate target that will hold to 1.5° Celsius.

When will Canada ratchet up our target and show that we really are leaders?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, North Vancouver, BC]

Madam Speaker, Canada is focused on ensuring that it meets the obligations that it entered into under the Paris Agreement, which is a 30% reduction over 2005 levels by 2030. The focus for this government is ensuring that we actually have a plan to implement commitments that we make with respect to climate change. Historically, too many governments have made commitments to targets and have done nothing to actually implement them. The focus for us is on achieving that target and looking at ratcheting up the level of ambition over time, just as the hon. member said.

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Madam Speaker, since taking office, our government has been clear that the economy and the environment can and must go hand in hand. It is a view that neither the federal NDP or the Conservative Party understand. We know this well from the Conservative Party's inaction on meaningful climate change policy as well as its inability to build a single metre of pipeline that would get our resources to new markets. I should clarify that I am talking about the federal NDP, not the Alberta NDP.

The federal NDP continues to fail to recognize that resource development has been, and will continue to be, part of our economy for the foreseeable future. The federal NDP fails to understand resource development can and does go together with our plan to meet the Paris targets and to implement the pan-Canadian framework on clean growth and climate change.

This is not an abstract exercise we are discussing. Our government is moving forward on the most comprehensive environmental policy our country has seen, while supporting nation-building resource projects that will benefit all of Canada.

Federal, provincial, and territorial governments have adopted and are working to implement the pan-Canadian framework on clean growth and climate change. This framework includes more than 50 initiatives that together put us on the path to meet or exceed our greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 30% below 2005 levels by 2030. We are making investments in industries of the future by supporting innovation, clean technology, and sustainable infrastructure.

Under the infrastructure plan I oversee, we are investing more than $26 billion in green infrastructure over the next decade. On top of that, we are investing $29 billion in the public transportation system to make our communities more green and sustainable. Out of the $26 billion of green infrastructure, $8 billion is to support renewable energy. This level of investment in green infrastructure and in climate change mitigation and adaptation is unparalleled in our country's history.

Taken together with our investments in innovation and clean technology, we are positioning ourselves to be a world leader in the clean technology sector. Alongside these investments, we have been steadfast in our support for the resource sector, which continues to be such an important part of our country's prosperity.

When we took office, we recognized the previous government's approach to resource development was not working. Public trust was eroded, the constitutional obligations to consult indigenous peoples were ignored, and a meaningful and comprehensive plan for environmental protection remained absent.

Our government is demonstrating that resource development and environmental protection can work together to improve investor confidence, strengthen our economy, and create good middle-class jobs while protecting the environment. As an Albertan, this is deeply important and personal to me. I know many workers who were affected by the downturn in the price of oil. I have many friends and family whose livelihoods depend on our resource sector. As well, in my trips to Fort McMurray and other cities around the province, I see first-hand the importance of not just getting our resources to market, but getting them to new markets so we are not reliant on our neighbours to the south to buy our oil.

The decisive action we have taken will ensure that the TMX pipeline gets built. I want to be clear that this decision was made under an exceptional set of circumstances.

The project was moving forward as planned, and we had made the interventions necessary to ensure this remained the case. It was the obstructionist actions of Premier Horgan in British Columbia that led to the need for the federal government to take the measures we took. Projects like TMX create thousands of jobs, not just in Alberta but across the country.

It is in the interest of Canada to find more efficient and safer ways to transport our natural resources to market. It is in the interest of Canada to receive a fair price for those resources than is possible when we essentially have only one customer. It is in the interest of Canada to partner with indigenous communities, respect and recognize their rights, and ensure traditional knowledge is integrated into our decisions. It is in the interest of Canada to develop our resources in a way that does not compromise the environment.

Since coming to office, our government has been guided by a simple but profound belief: that the economy and the environment must go hand in hand. We also know that good projects such as TMX will not get built unless they carry the confidence of Canadians. That is why our government introduced the $1.5 billion oceans protection plan. This plan to safeguard the health and safety of coastal communities and the sensitive marine areas is the most significant investment Canada has ever made in protecting our oceans. It is also why Canadians can feel confident that the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion will not jeopardize B.C.'s beautiful coastline.

Our government is demonstrating in real and tangible ways that growing the economy and protecting the environment can go hand in hand. We are supporting Canadian workers at every step to ensure that major resource projects move forward, while making the investment to ensure our workforce is well positioned for the technologies of the future.

In short, we made a promise to Canadians and we are delivering on it.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Madam Speaker, we heard at least three times during my colleague's speech, and more frequently from other members of his caucus, that the environment and the economy go hand in hand. It is a worn out phrase that we have heard since the 2015 campaign.

However, the problem with that statement is that the government is not being forthright with Canadians in showing how that happens. We have asked what the greenhouse gas emissions reductions will be as a result of the carbon tax. We get no answers. We have asked how much this new carbon tax will cost the average Canadian family. We know the Liberals know but they refuse to share it with us.

If the economy and the environment go hand in hand, will my colleague today stand in the House and tell Canadians what will the carbon tax cost the average Canadian family and how much greenhouse gas emissions reduction will result from the carbon tax imposition?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Edmonton Mill Woods, AB]

Madam Speaker, in all jurisdictions in Canada, Canadians understand that to get our resources to the international market, we need to take action on climate change. We are taking action on climate change, and pricing pollution is part of that.

I would urge my colleagues from the Conservative Party, as well as all of the Alberta MPs, to put aside their partisanship and really think of what is best for Alberta's workers. They have been asking us to take action on TMX. We have shown leadership by taking over this project to get it built. This is about Alberta's economy. This is about Canada's economy. This about ensuring we are creating jobs for the middle class, jobs that are needed in the energy sector.

I hope members will put aside their partisanship and support our government to get TMX built.

[Sheila Malcolmson, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Madam Speaker, with respect, I have to disagree with my colleague across the way. There is no consensus among Canadians that in order to defeat climate change, we have to build a pipeline. It is Orwellian logic and it does not make any sense.

I want to ask my colleague across the way about his government's commitment to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies. This was a promise that Canada made to the G7 in recognition that subsidies for fossil fuels undermine efforts to deal with climate change, that they encourage wasteful energy consumption, that they reduce energy security, and that they impede investment in clean energy sources.

Because we are debating today the imperative for the government to shift its investment from a dirty old bitumen pipeline for $4.5 billion into clean energy jobs instead, when is the government going to act on its promise to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Edmonton Mill Woods, AB]

Madam Speaker, we are taking action in investing in new technology, $8 billion in new technology in renewable energy.

I would appreciate if the hon. member for the federal NDP would appreciate the actions being taken by the Alberta NDP on climate change. It has put a cap on overall emissions from the oil sands. It is phasing out coal. It has put a very effective price on pollution. I hope the federal NDP will support the provincial NDP to get that action going and get the resources to market so it can pay for all the steps that need to be taken in order to protect our environment.

It is so disheartening and disappointing to see the federal NDP completely ignore the needs of workers in Alberta, to completely ignore the comprehensive action the provincial NDP has taken.

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to talk about the environment and the economy of the future as part of the debate on our motion today. I will be sharing my time with the excellent member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, who does a great job as the agriculture critic. He mentioned the potential risks and absurdity of the Liberal purchase of Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline at a cost of $4.3 billion of taxpayers' and Drummond residents' money.

For the past few days, the people of Drummond have been outraged that their money is being used to buy a private company for purposes that are not clear and to invest in the energy of the past rather than that of the future. In today's opposition motion, my colleague from Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie is proposing that we invest in the future. He believes that a global environmental leaders do not invest in a pipeline, they invest in renewable energy such as sun, wind, clean hydroelectricity or smaller projects.

Studies show that investing $1 million in renewable energy and energy efficiency will create 10 times more jobs than investing in fossil fuels. If we want to build a strong and competitive economy and a forward-looking society, we should not be investing $4.3 billion of taxpayer money in an outdated resource. We must invest in the future. The Liberal government failed miserably on this one. It is very serious.

Our motion states that we should transition towards energies and the economy of the future. Countries and societies around the world are investing more and more in renewable energy. In Canada, the Liberal government is unfortunately lagging behind on such investments. This motion calls on the government to urgently change course. When the NDP comes to power in 2019, that is what we will do. We will change course to ensure that the money this government misspent will be invested in the economy of the future.

I want to take this opportunity to talk about two young women I met on the weekend at one of my town hall meetings. Rébecca Joyal and Méganne Joyal are two sisters who are very involved in their school community. They started by getting involved in their school's UNESCO program, and then joined Amnesty International. They are working to get composting at their school. They are just 17 years old and they are already working to improve their environment.

Rébecca was recently elected environment minister in the Quebec youth parliament. As you can see, these young women truly want to get involved. They told me that we need to combat climate change and that this was the biggest challenge of the future, but it is also the biggest challenge of today.

Those who think that climate change is a myth are clearly forgetting all of the extreme and severe weather events the world has experienced in recent years.

Extreme weather events are not only on the rise, but they are also getting worse. In Drummondville, we used to see torrential rains maybe once every 100 years. Now, we get them every three or four years. That has serious implications for our infrastructure. Basements get flooded, for example.

Just a few years ago, I had to help out at a community centre when its basement was flooded because of torrential rain. I received all sorts of email. People came to tell me that their basement had been flooded and asked me to do something about it. Something must be done. The Liberal government is dragging its feet in the fight against climate change and is not investing all its time and money in the right places.

Just recently, in spring 2018, there were devastating floods in New Brunswick and British Columbia, not to mention forest fires in Manitoba. We know that climate change is affecting us and has serious consequences.

We have to turn things around, but we have to do so in an intelligent manner that supports our economy and our workers who work in outdated industries. We cannot leave them behind. We have to support them in this transition.

Canadian municipalities are very vulnerable to the risks associated with climate change, especially when it comes to extreme weather. Floods are the most costly natural disaster in terms of damage to property and urban infrastructure. Some might say this is a new phenomenon, but it is not. This has been going on for a long time and the government knows it.

In fact, there was once a national round table on the environment and the economy, which was tasked with linking the environment with the economy. Is that not odd? We often hear the Liberals or the Conservatives say that this hurts the economy and so on, but that is not true. The national round table on the environment and the economy explained that if we fail to invest in the fight against climate change, there will be serious consequences that will be far more costly in the future. We are talking cost increases in the billions of dollars.

Unfortunately, the government is currently handing out $1.3 billion a year in fossil fuel subsidies. The Liberal government said that it would do away with those subsidies, but it has not yet done so. However, we will eliminate them in 2019. The government is always behind on that. We would take the $4.3 billion that the Liberals invested in a pipeline and invest it in the economy of the future and energy efficiency.

I did not talk about energy efficiency, but there are a lot of businesses in Drummond that do excellent work in that area. Venmar, Annexair, and Aéronergie, just to name a few, are energy efficiency experts that create local jobs. They also drive the local economy and help people save money by lowering their home heating costs. These businesses also help fight climate change.

What plan do the Liberals' have for energy efficiency and helping Canadian families? They do not have one. That is why we need to adopt today's motion. The Liberals need to understand that. If not, that is fine. The NDP will take office in 2019 and we will do what needs to be done.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, what the member has said is just not true. The Government of Canada will be investing hundreds of millions of dollars over the coming years in environmentally sound policy, green tech, and so much more. The minister himself just made reference to infrastructure.

I would like to be very clear with my New Democratic colleagues and emphasize the point today that the national New Democratic Party has given up on the province of Alberta. That party has made it very clear that it does not support any sort of pipeline expansion. As far as the NDP is concerned, I suspect the national interest is playing second fiddle as it says no to Albertans with respect to this important project. I am disappointed that the NDP has not recognized that the TMX going forward is in the national interest.

Why does the member believe that the NDP has put the national interest at such a low priority with respect to health transfers, education, even clean energy into the future that could be invested in with the proceeds and the jobs that will be saved?

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

Madam Speaker, I would like to tell a short but relevant story.

Drummondville was completely dependent on the textile industry, which made up almost our entire economy. When it collapsed, so did Drummondville's economy, so we had to diversify.

Alberta currently depends on the oil industry. Rachel Notley's NDP government knows that and has said that Alberta needs to diversify its economy. What is the Liberal Government of Canada doing to help Rachel Notley and the NDP diversify Alberta's economy and create diversified jobs in sectors other than the oil industry? The Liberals are not doing anything to help with that.

If the NDP were in office at the federal level, it would support the Government of Alberta and give money to support workers, provide training, and diversify Alberta's economy because that would be in the best interests of all Canadians.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Madam Speaker, I had the privilege of working with my colleague on the environment committee a few years ago. I have always enjoyed working with him.

I totally agree with my NDP colleagues in their questions about the Trans Mountain pipeline. It is costing $4.5 billion of taxpayers' money to invest in a 60-year-old pipeline and who knows how much it is going to cost to do the expansion. It could be up to $10 billion. On that point we agree.

I also realize that the member for Drummond and his party are very supportive of the idea of a carbon tax, and yet we do not have any idea how much greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced as a result of the carbon tax, nor do we have any idea as to how much the carbon tax will cost the average Canadian family.

My question to my colleague is similar to a question asked to one of his former colleagues. Is the NDP prepared to support the carbon tax regardless of how much it will cost Canadian families? Is the sky the limit? Is the NDP going to just give the Liberal government a blank cheque to impose whatever it wants on the average Canadian family?