Madam Speaker, energy is the fuel of life and thankfully we have been blessed with a great deal of it. We do not have to be dependent on other nations for fuel, which gives us the competitive edge if we have the common sense to utilize it. What I find extremely disconcerting, however, is the lengths to which the government will go in order to demonize the industry. Instead of celebrating the value it adds to our country by generating revenue, the Prime Minister is trying to phase it out. Why?
The export of our oil and gas brings revenue into Canada which helps pay for schools, hospitals, infrastructure and social programs. The industry provides a net good, not just for Alberta, not just for Western Canada, but for the entire country. Those are the indirect benefits. Now let us look at the direct benefits.
The direct benefits of hydrocarbons, which are the main component in crude oil, are responsible for transporting people, goods and food. They are what empower farmers to produce the things we eat and they are what support many of the medicines that extend human life. They are found in the products that we rely on each and every day, such as eyeglasses, health care equipment and vehicles.
The Liberals like to talk about a greener future, but they are completely misrepresenting the facts. If they want to get rid of hydrocarbons, then we will be living in a world without PPE, without vital medical equipment, without syringes and without sanitary packaging. Let that sink in for a moment. They dumb down the conversation to almost caveman-like language like “this good” or “that bad”. They paint our oil and gas sector with a broad stroke of black as if it is something to be ashamed of.
What they intentionally fail to highlight, however, are the innovations and the technological breakthroughs that reduce carbon emissions. They do not speak about our incredibly high environmental standards, our safety standards or our human rights standards. It is vitally important to take a comprehensive look at these factors, because if we do not improve and build up the energy sector in our own country, then we have to ask ourselves what the alternative is.
It is to increase energy production and exports from other countries, countries like Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, where there are no environmental protections and horrific human rights atrocities that take place on a daily basis. That is not to mention the tremendous damage that is done to the environment by transporting barge after barge of oil across the ocean.
The world is going to need oil for a long time to come. In fact, demand is estimated to increase by 19% by 2040. This is because as developing countries rise out of poverty and their standards of living improve, their need for oil and gas goes up. Canada has an opportunity. If these countries are not going to get their gas and oil from us, then they will go elsewhere.
If the Prime Minister genuinely cares about reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, then the obvious action is to boost production in our own country where the industry works hard to reduce environmental impact and improve performance through constant innovation. Why the Prime Minister continues to annihilate this sector absolutely confounds me.
Canada has the opportunity to be a leader and a responsible resource supplier to countries around the globe. Boosting our oil and gas industry would not only help the rest of the world by supplying clean energy produced under the strictest environmental standards with safe working conditions, but it would also bring an incredible amount of wealth into our nation.
In Canada, we are very proud of our social safety net and our national health care system, but these big-ticket items cost a lot of money to run effectively. When the government works to cancel energy projects or kill pipelines and demonizes the energy industry, it effectively puts our welfare systems at risk. Canada deserves better.