Mr. Speaker, it is a “ticking time bomb”. Those are the words of the office of the Governor of Michigan in regard to the Line 5 pipeline.
I will point out, and it is very important to do so, that those words are entirely inaccurate, but it is a statement that makes very clear that this is, in fact, an emergency situation for Canada. It also makes it very clear that our government has failed to take appropriate action to ensure this matter is taken care of.
The Governor of Michigan has ordered this critical piece of Canadian infrastructure to be shut down by May 12, a week from today, and the government has failed to ensure and secure the critical continued operation of this piece of infrastructure. This pipeline is a crucial link between the energy producers in the west and the consumers in the east. Through this pipeline, Alberta fuels Quebec and Ontario.
The Minister of Natural Resources has confirmed this one pipeline alone is responsible for 53% of Ontario's crude and 66% of Quebec's. It is responsible for the majority of propane in Ontario and Quebec as well. Without this pipeline, gasoline prices would skyrocket, the economies of Ontario and Quebec would crash and propane supplies would completely disappear, wiping out farmers, shutting down warehouses and threatening heating and life-saving equipment at hospitals that are already stretched beyond capacity.
This is not just a threat to tens of thousands of direct jobs in Sarnia, Montreal, Quebec City and the province of Alberta, but to 40 million Canadians and Americans who rely on the products produced by these refineries for the necessities of life.
In short, the shutdown of this pipeline would cause catastrophic economic damage to Canada at a time when COVID-19 has already created an incredible burden on Canadian workers. It would also create catastrophic damage from an environmental perspective, because shutting down Line 5 would be an environmental disaster.
The shortfall that would result would mean Canada would have to obtain energy from far less environmentally friendly sources. It would also mean the potential for transport by truck and rail rather than through a pipeline, which is the far more environmentally friendly alternative. It would require approximately 2,000 trucks or 800 rail cars each day to make up for the shutdown of this pipeline. Neither of those options is good for either our economy or our environment.
With this in mind, I would ask that you accept this request for an emergency debate, pursuant to Standing Order 52, so members of Parliament can debate this very urgent economic and environmental crisis for our country.