Madam Speaker, I am pleased that the government has allowed this reduced version of democracy to continue in these difficult times. Many of my constituents believe that our work here is fundamental, even in these times, to ensuring that our democratic traditions of responsible government and accountability in this House are upheld.
As with so many matters, much water has passed under the bridge in these past months, particularly with respect to Canadian energy and pipeline infrastructure. Keystone XL was cancelled with the stroke of a new U.S. president's pen, with barely a shrug of the shoulders from Canada's Prime Minister. “Disappointment” was the official response from the Prime Minister's Office. “Disappointment” represented the weakest response available from a multiple-choice list and barely registers in comparison to the shock and anger felt throughout Canada's resource industry.
Keystone XL was a piece of vital energy infrastructure that would have linked a world-class resource with a market that needs it and values it highly. Its sudden cancellation merits more than a shrug of the shoulders and a desire to just move on.
We know the government's focus by where it spends its time and its efforts. It is evidently not on world-leading net-zero infrastructure that would have reduced the environmental footprint of the final product by 20%, so the government's focus is not on real environmental outcomes. It is not on going to bat for infrastructure in which five first nations held an equity stake, so it is not on indigenous reconciliation. It is not for the thousands of workers dismissed from their jobs, so it is not on workers. It is not on the economic benefits built into this world-class Canadian project, which was projected to be assessed for $30 billion in taxes that would be paid to government over its life; so it is not for Canadian services and benefits, a social safety net and health care, or all the government services that we enjoy. This is a government unconcerned about the ability to provide care for Canadians in the next several years.
Let us call it what it is. It is an absolute failure on energy in every area that matters to Canadians: environmental advancement, fail; indigenous reconciliation, fail; Canadian jobs, fail; economic benefits, fail; continued ability to deliver government services, fail.
I hear the protests of the Minister of Natural Resources about how hard he tried. I have to remind him here that this trying and failing is becoming repetitive with his cabinet colleagues. His cheerleading is falling on deaf ears with his leadership, who are all saying once again, just as on Teck Frontier's withdrawal, “Let's move on.”
Regarding Enbridge Line 5, I have heard the minister, the Prime Minister and their proxies neglect to respond to the real issue facing the potential closure of Line 5. Supplying 540,000 barrels of oil per day to refineries in Ontario and Quebec, this has been an essential part of our national infrastructure since 1953. It is a link between Canada and the United States that has provided much to our shared prosperity, and its importance was recognized by the signing of the transit pipelines treaty in 1977, supported at that time by Senator Joe Biden.
There is a deadline to respond to this threat of closure from the governor of Michigan—