Madam Speaker, the energy sector is a key component to our continued recovery, and we cannot abandon this industry and the families it supports.
Today is a sad day, and we must have an emergency debate to ensure that a pipeline will not be shut down. In fact, we are less than a week away from that deadline. Michigan's governor wants to shut down Line 5 on May 12. Currently the case is before a judge and it will soon go to the courts of the United States and that is in their hands.
For the past several months I have joined my Conservative colleagues in asking questions of the Liberal government about its actions on Line 5. In fact, on February 24, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources stated the government was fully committed to the continuing and safe operation of Line 5, yet the Liberals have abandoned any action and have failed to meaningfully engage to ensure the continuation of Line 5.
Here we are today, one week away from the shutdown of Line 5. Are we going to let America's courts determine our energy security? It seems like we are.
Right now Enbridge, the owner of the pipeline, is in mediation, but there is no guarantee in this regard in either situation. We cannot take that risk in courts. That is why other projects and pipelines that would have been built today would be the solution. The Government of Canada needs to take leadership and ensure this pipeline continues, but we could have had other pipelines in play to ensure we were not held ransom, as we are today.
Line 5 impacts millions of Canadians, and through increased prices, greater truck traffic and environmental risks, the Liberals have failed to protect Line 5 and other pipeline projects. During the special committee on Canada-U.S. relations, members heard that Line 5 is not just an important pipeline, it is an economic lifeline for both Canada and the U.S. It would impede access to the energy that is needed to run both of our economies and would cause energy shortages and have a significant impact on the price of gasoline, diesel, propane, jet fuel, plastics and chemicals.
To Conservatives, Line 5 is of national importance. Action needs to be taken. The Governor of Michigan has referred to this pipeline as a “ticking time bomb”. We cannot have a Prime Minister who sits on his hands and lets others decide our fate.
Time and again we have seen these death by delay tactics on major projects like the Teck Frontier mine and the failure to stand up for Keystone XL. The Prime Minister is missing in action, much like his failure to show up for the negotiations on the TPP. The Prime Minister is the captain of the Canadian ship. We are asking him, rather than letting us drift along on the current, to put his hand on the tiller and provide some direction.
We cannot rely on American courts or politicians to defend our interests. We have already seen how American politicians and a disinterested Liberal government have made the construction and completion of Keystone XL impossible. To save Line 5, we need action and a political response at the highest level. The shutdown of Line 5 is not an issue that can be swept into the closet. The impending closure is right in front of us, and millions of Canadians will be impacted by this shutdown.
The Canadian government needs to stand up for its treaties and agreements. The transit pipelines treaty is one of these agreements. Back in 1977, Joe Biden, then a senator and now the American president, voted for and supported the transit pipelines treaty. This treaty ensures that oil and petroleum products can travel from Canada through the U.S. and come back into Canada.
This pipeline has operated safely for 68 years, but Michigan's governor's plan to cancel an easement, which would shut down this pipeline, needs our action now, and we have a treaty to back it up. Our Prime Minister needs to work directly with the American president to ensure the continuation of Line 5. This task would ensure that Line 5 cannot be delegated. It requires action at the highest level, and this matter needs to be dealt with quickly so that Canadian jobs are protected.
I have heard over and over again from the Liberals how this is about jobs, that pipelines are safe and that there are 1,500 trucks, 800 railcars, northern gateway and Keystone XL. However, northern gateway, Keystone XL and energy east all would have displaced foreign oil, displaced these trucks, displaced railcars, taken the oil off the rail and taken it off the road.
The logic is the same for all other pipelines, not just Line 5, and energy east would have been operational by now, if the Liberals had not stuck a stick in its spokes. If there is no action on Line 5 and Line 5 is shut down, 5,000 jobs in Sarnia, Ontario, will be lost due to the Prime Minister's inaction.
Enbridge Line 5 plays a key role in our national energy supply chain: 15,000 trucks a day would be required to replace the capacity of this pipeline.
The special committee heard from Scott Archer of UA Local 663, who commented on the importance of Line 5 by saying that for Canadians, this is “non-negotiable. You need to take a stand to protect Canadian families, businesses and industry.”
The continued operation of Line 5 is of national importance. In February, I asked a question on behalf of my friend JD from Slave Lake: On what day will the Prime Minister pick up the phone and defend Alberta's energy interests and market access? We have seen continual failure and lack of action by the current do-nothing Liberal government on pipelines, especially Keystone XL and now Line 5. Why did he not act before this came before the courts?
To secure our future and to ensure—