House of Commons Hansard #410 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was pardon.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
I declare the motion carried. Accordingly, the bill stands referred to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security.
A motion to adjourn the House under Standing Order 38 deemed to have been moved.
Dan Albas Conservative Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has spent months ignoring the advice of our allies and refusing to ban Huawei from our future 5G network.
Countries and providers across the world are acknowledging the reality that it is far too dangerous to allow a Chinese government-controlled company to have access to every level of our communication network. However, the government is refusing to make a decision, leaving the industry and the Canadian people in limbo.
Now we see that while the government stalls this decision, it is denying anyone who is opposed to Huawei from providing any input on whether the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada should allow Huawei to fund a research chair. It seems that no one opposed to Huawei is allowed to provide any input on whether it should be allowed to further entrench itself in our scientific and technical research infrastructure. This is typical of the government: make a decision, and then only allow those who agree with it to provide any input. It is certain that if anyone opposed to Huawei's funding research is barred from participating, then only those in favour will be heard.
Right now, UBC is partnering with Huawei on 5G research because the government has not told it that it should not do so, although three former directors of our key security agencies have said that Canada should cut ties with Huawei when it comes to the development of our 5G infrastructure.
The director of CSIS has said we need to be wary of state-sponsored espionage on the 5G network, yet one of the largest universities in the country is allowing Huawei into its network, with zero guidance from the Liberal government. Universities like Stanford, Berkeley, and Oxford are severing ties with Huawei, while the Canadian government is basically welcoming it with open arms.
lt is unthinkable why the government is helping Huawei embed itself into Canada's research infrastructure and 5G network while saying it has not decided on whether to allow it at all. We cannot have a government that pulls the wool over its eyes and pretends that everything is fine while Canadians await execution in China. It is unreasonable to allow Chinese government-controlled Huawei to infiltrate our 5G networks and our universities.
lt is far past time for the government to listen to our allies, do what is right, ban Huawei from our 5G network and also stop signing research deals with it.
Karen McCrimmon LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, our government takes the cybersecurity of Canadians very seriously, and we will never compromise on national security. We are investing more than $869 million to fund a new cybersecurity strategy to ensure secure and resilient cyber-systems and to encourage innovation.
As part of this strategy, the Communications Security Establishment received funding to establish the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security. The new centre is a hub for the government's leading cybersecurity experts and can address rapidly developing cyber-threats throughout the world in real time.
Together with Canadian and international partners, Canada's national communications intelligence agency is constantly working to identify threats, and we will continue to listen to its advice. We have the utmost confidence in the CSE's cybersecurity expertise, but, of course, it cannot do it alone.
Security is a collective effort that involves 31 telecommunications service providers. We have been partnering with industry and vendors since 2013 to make sure that the equipment in our telecom networks is safe and secure for all Canadians. The success of this program demonstrates the willingness, transparency and good faith of the private sector to work with the government.
Canadians can be confident that our telecommunications networks are properly protected. They are among the best and most secure in the world. We are leveraging that experience, and that of our allies, to ensure that Canada continues to raise the bar for security globally. Some of our closest allies around the world have restricted certain equipment from inclusion in their 5G deployments.
We will continue to engage with our allies around the world as the government works to formulate Canada's position on this issue. 5G will be the backbone of the digital economy and a platform for innovation. Beyond improving telecoms, 5G will enable new technologies across other sectors such as transportation, energy and health care.
Canadians can rest assured that we are working to make sure that these networks are properly and thoroughly protected.
Dan Albas Conservative Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member said she believes that the process the government is using is transparent. She also believes that it is working with telecoms across the country. She also said that the government is always going to put our national security in place.
First of all, the government has not been transparent. We have been asking for quite a long time for Canada to join with our Five Eyes partners, like Australia, New Zealand and the United States, in banning Huawei. When it comes to transparency, we have no idea when that process will be there.
I mentioned some of the university infrastructure. Universities have publicly asked for the government to be clear as to what partnerships they should engage in. The member opposite did not even refer to that.
The former executive vice-president of NSERC recently wrote in The Globe and Mail that the Chinese government is using research deals in seemly unrelated fields to support Chinese military development, and the Chinese government has the power to force companies to comply with the government in undertaking espionage.
It is absurd that the government is not focused on these key issues in this country at this time.
Karen McCrimmon Liberal Kanata—Carleton, ON
Mr. Speaker, we are not going to pre-empt the government's review of 5G security. We will not commit to any specific course of action until all considerations have been taken into account. All options remain open. We are well aware of the urgency of this issue given that the race to 5G is well under way, and we are working hard to develop an approach that is right for Canada.
Kevin Waugh Conservative Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK
Mr. Speaker, this past December, I asked the Liberal government an important and straightforward question: When will the Liberal government finally start standing up for the Canadian energy sector and kill Bill C-69, a bill which absolutely suffocates this critical sector with additional regulation burdens and uncertainty? I received the usual Liberal response of another non-answer.
Tonight, I know the Liberals have no intention of backing away from Bill C-69, even though this bill would have a very severe impact on many of the thousands of Canadians who are employed in the energy sector throughout this country. Instead of working to support Canadians, the Liberal government continues to stubbornly persist in working against Canadians.
We know the policies of the Liberal government when it comes to our energy sector, a sector which represented nearly 11% of our country's normal GDP in 2017. The Liberals, we should be reminded, killed the northern gateway pipeline. They stopped the energy east pipeline by piling on the red tape and additional regulations. They passed Bill C-48 in the House to place a moratorium on the traffic of oil tankers along B.C.'s northern coast. They failed to support the construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline. As a result, they had to spend $4.5 billion of taxpayer money to buy the existing Trans Mountain pipeline just to keep the project from collapsing entirely.
It is clear that the Liberals have never had a plan to support the Canadian energy sector. It is clear, through their insistence on passing Bill C-69, that the Liberals do not intend to support our energy sector any time soon.
The Liberal government has a responsibility to look out for the hundreds of thousands of Canadian workers who are employed in the Canadian energy sector, and it is obvious that it is failing to do so. Through the dangerous and reckless policies of the Liberal government, investment in our resource and energy sectors is collapsing like never before. In 2018, Statistics Canada reported capital spending on oil and gas extraction fell for the fourth straight year, decreasing by 12% from the spending of 2017.
Why is the Liberal government doing nothing to protect the livelihoods of the many thousands of hard-working Canadians who actually work in Canada's energy sector? When will the Liberals finally scrap Bill C-69?
Karen McCrimmon LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, of course, we are going to see the issue differently. Our government has said since day one that economic growth and environmental stewardship can and must go hand in hand. They are not competing interests. They are not opposing goals. Canadians have made that clear.
With help from indigenous peoples, representatives from our natural resource sectors, environmental groups and Canadians from coast to coast to coast, Bill C-69 proposes a number of key improvements over the current system.
These changes would ensure that decisions are transparent and guided by robust science and indigenous knowledge. They would ensure that project reviews consider a wider range of impacts, including those on the economy, the environment, our health, indigenous rights and local communities. They would also support more timely and predictable reviews, advance reconciliation and partnership with indigenous peoples, and reduce duplication and red tape through a one project, one review approach.
Canada has a new wave of projects on the way which makes this legislation not only important to address existing concerns, but necessary for us to take full advantage of future potential.
Our latest inventory indicates there are more than 400 resource projects either already started or planned over the next decade worth a combined value approaching $585 billion.
The time is now. If we want to keep seizing all of these opportunities and build a Canada that works for everyone, we must develop our resources the right way. That is the purpose of Bill C-69 and the reason for creating a new Canadian energy regulator to replace the National Energy Board. Canadians deserve a federal regulator that reflects Canada's and the world's changing energy needs. lt does so in five key ways.
First, it proposes a modern governance and management model. Second, it would enhance investor certainty by reducing red tape, duplication and unnecessary delays in the decision-making process. Third, the new Canadian energy regulator would renew public trust in the review process by making it more inclusive, transparent and meaningful. Fourth, the new Canadian energy regulator would support indigenous participation and ensure meaningful engagement throughout the review process. Fifth and finally, the new federal energy regulator would have the tools it needs to safeguard the public and protect the environment.
Through all of these measures we can reap the benefit of the tremendous future in front of us, ensure Canada is competitive and our future is bright for our kids, grandkids and future generations.
Kevin Waugh Conservative Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK
Mr. Speaker, there is a billboard on Wellington Street just outside West Block, and my office in the Confederation Building which reads, “First nations are opposed to Bill C-69”. I think it is sponsored by the Indigenous Resource Council which represents over 130 first nations in this country. It is an interesting ad outside the House of Commons.
I should add that the only winners right now are the suppliers of foreign oil, such as Saudi Arabia. Statistics Canada reported that in the last five years, Canadian oil imports from Saudi Arabia have risen over 66%. The real winner is Saudi Arabia. The real losers are indigenous and other Canadians.
Karen McCrimmon Liberal Kanata—Carleton, ON
Mr. Speaker, let me be clear. We heard Canadians when they said they wanted a better process for reviewing major resource projects, because all Canadians have a stake in ensuring that good resource projects can move forward and grow the economy, create good middle-class jobs and do so in a way that protects the environment and our health.
The bill does that and provides better opportunities for meaningful participation at all stages by introducing a new early planning and engagement phase and by ensuring Canadians have the information and tools they need to participate fully.
It is a response on behalf of every Canadian who wants our natural resources sector to be competitive, to be sustainable, to be a source of good, middle-class jobs now and into the future.
Pat Kelly Conservative Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB
Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise in Adjournment Proceedings to take up a question that I asked quite some time ago now, but it is still timely. Given the response to the question from the member for Saskatoon—Grasswood, I am disappointed with what I have heard so far.
My question was to the Minister of Natural Resources. I asked him to apologize for remarks he made in December on Power and Politics, when he said, “Any intelligent person will tell you that Northern Gateway was overturned by the Federal Court of Appeal. ... Not moving forward on Energy East was a decision of the company.”
I renew my call to the minister to apologize for insulting the intelligence of Canadians, who see quite clearly what the government has done to ensure that pipelines do not get built, and the extreme lengths that it will go to.
On the question of northern gateway, it is as if that minister was not even aware of Order in Council 2016-1047. This was the order in council that terminated northern gateway. It was a minister's decision to terminate approval for that project.
It was also as if that minister was not aware that his own government had introduced Bill C-48, which is right now struggling its way through the Senate, where hopefully it will die, but this House had passed Bill C-48, a bill that would render the northern gateway project impossible.
For him to say that “any intelligent person will tell you” and that it was not the government that rendered this project unviable is insulting to Canadians, who can see very clearly how the government's policies have affected pipelines.
Let us look at where we were when the government took office. There were four very large pipeline projects, and two were already approved, the Keystone XL project and the northern gateway project. There were approvals in place on both of these projects. The energy east project was contemplated. It had not reached the stage of a formal application, and there was also the Trans Mountain expansion, again, which was at the pre-approval stage.
The Liberal government chased away all of these projects in its own way. It failed to champion Keystone XL and wasted time during the Obama administration, and that project is still not built.
As for the northern gateway, we know that the Liberal government deliberately killed it by order in council and by the shipping ban.
In the case of energy east, we know that the Liberal government moved the goalposts to render approval an impossibility and not even worth pursuing by the proponent.
In the case of Trans Mountain, time does not even allow me to get into the entire debacle of the Trans Mountain expansion. The Liberal government ignored all of the problems that were mounting on that project. It voted against opposition motions calling upon the government to take positive steps to ensure its approval. Then it bought it, paid $4.5 billion for it and promised construction would begin immediately, and still there are no shovels in the ground.
That makes four projects, but none built.
Karen McCrimmon LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Calgary Rocky Ridge for his question.
Through Bill C-69, we are delivering on a promise to Canadians to review and streamline our environmental review and regulatory processes. We know that this legislation will put in place better rules to protect our environment, fish, and waterways and help rebuild public trust in how decisions about resource development are made, all while strengthening investor confidence and advancing indigenous reconciliation. How? It is by implementing a single, integrated and consistent approach based on the principle of one project, one review, and by ensuring that good projects move forward in a predictable and timely way.
Indeed, Bill C-69 would tighten timelines, eliminate overlap among review panels and make government more accountable. This new approach would also help to diversify Canada's energy markets, expand our energy infrastructure and drive economic growth. That is what Bill C-69 would do. lt is about ensuring that the economy and the environment go hand in hand. That was our vision behind Bill C-69 and the reason for creating a new Canadian energy regulator to replace the National Energy Board.
We want to create a new federal regulator that reflects Canada's changing energy needs, with an expanded mandate, greater diversity and enhanced powers. This is important. and frankly overdue, because the NEB's structure, role and mandate have barely changed since it was created in 1959. We need a modern regulator to integrate Canada's energy, economic, environment and climate goals, and at the same time, renew Canada's relationship with indigenous peoples.
All of these things are clearly illustrated in our government's comprehensive response to the Federal Court of Appeal's decision on the Trans Mountain expansion project. We instructed the National Energy Board to reconsider its recommendations on the project to include the effects of marine shipping related to the pipeline's expansion. We relaunched our government's phase III consultations with indigenous groups affected by the project. These actions are among the things that make Bill C-69 transformational: earlier public consultations and indigenous engagement, greater collaboration with the provinces and territories and decisions based on science.
Through all of these measures, we can create a Canadian energy sector for tomorrow's clean economy, one that is globally competitive, attracts investments and ensures that we are developing and transporting our energy responsibly. These are all things that Canadians have told us were important to them. Bill C-69 shows that we were listening.
Pat Kelly Conservative Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB
Mr. Speaker, Bill C-69 demonstrates exactly the opposite. It confirms that the government is not listening.
The member spoke of collaboration with provinces. She spoke of competitiveness of our resources. I bring to her attention the catastrophic differential on Canadian crude for the lack of pipeline capacity, and the testimony of Premier Kenney and Minister Savage at the Senate energy committee last week. The member will note from the testimony there that Bill C-69 is the absolute wrong approach and the most disastrous thing that the Liberals could do to rectify the inability under the current government for any of these other pipelines to be built. This is the bill that would ensure that no similar project is ever proposed in Canada.
Karen McCrimmon Liberal Kanata—Carleton, ON
Mr. Speaker, we believe that economic prosperity and environmental protection are not mutually exclusive. They go together. We can look at LNG Canada's recent decision to proceed with a $40 billion project on the west coast of British Columbia. It will create thousands of good jobs and generate billions of dollars in new revenue for government, all while building the cleanest large-scale LNG facility in the world.
That is our vision for this clean-growth century. It is a vision where Canada is leading the way, creating the prosperity we all want while protecting the planet we all cherish.
The Deputy Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton
The motion that the House do now adjourn is deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).
(The House adjourned at 7:07 p.m.)