Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Nickel Belt, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources, for whom I have the utmost respect. I know he does an incredible job. He fights for his constituents in the Nickel Belt and Greater Sudbury area, and represents them well. I have a lot of respect for him as a person.
Tonight, we are debating the importance of Line 5 and crude oil. I know that this has a direct impact on my constituents in Glengarry—Prescott—Russell. Although it is not directly about crude oil, the indirect effects are similar to concerns about propane gas. I felt them myself during the strike of November 2019. I know it is important for many people. Although it had nothing to do with Line 5, the CN strike and the propane crisis had a major impact on my constituents and on Quebec.
Actually, I would like to thank a local business, Propane Levac, that took the bull by the horns and found a solution with CN. I also want to thank CN, with whom we worked in close collaboration. Even during the strike, we managed to get some propane in eastern Ontario and even to supply a large part of Quebec. That was all made possible by Propane Levac. During the month of November, most farmers relied on propane to run their driers to dry their grain, which was so important. Once again, I would like to thank Propane Levac, who played an important role during this crisis.
Line 5 is important for Ontario and for Quebec.
We know how important Line 5 also is for the U.S. We know that Canada exports 56% of the crude oil used in the U.S. and 91% of Canada's energy exports, which include crude oil, natural gas, electricity from clean sources and uranium, are exported to the U.S. The point is that our economies are integrated. There is about $2.1 billion in economic activity every day across the U.S.-Canada border. Obviously, it is an important economic relationship that goes far beyond any prime minister or president. If Line 5 were cancelled, it would be an insult to Canada, Canadians, Ontario and Quebec. There will be a solution. We will be able to find a solution to that problem.
In 2016-17, when former President Trump said he was going to renegotiate NAFTA, all of us in the chamber took a united stand. The Conservatives, NDP, some of the Bloc and the Greens all said we were going to fight for Canada and would not point fingers at each other because one party lacked a strategy or because somebody did not say something at the right time. We were all going to stand together and fight for Canada.
I remember all of us, even backbenchers, going to Washington and lobbying members of Congress, whether they were Republicans or Democrats, and we all had the same story. Members of the agriculture committee went there and we talked about a hamburger. Nothing unites the U.S. and Canada more than a hamburger. We discussed the fact that the tomatoes may be grown in Ontario, the buns may be made in the U.S. and the cattle may come from Alberta, be sent down south, processed in the U.S. and shipped back to Canada. The hamburger was a united story to describe how the economies of Canada and the U.S. are truly integrated. It was a good story to tell our U.S. counterparts to describe how Canada and the U.S. have truly integrated economies and are best friends. Yes, we may have disagreements once in a while, but I sincerely believe that the team Canada approach is what made CUSMA the success we know it to be today. I am glad the official opposition supported it at the time.
Now that we are dealing with Line 5, I think the approach should be a team Canada approach. It should not be about finger pointing or saying the Liberals are bad or the Liberals are doing this or that. I do not know if it has something to do with the official opposition leader's numbers in Alberta. I hope it does not, because I know I saw some polls and they were doing even worse than our own Prime Minister in Alberta. I hope it has nothing to do with politics. I would hope they would put the 6,500 jobs that the leader of the official opposition has mentioned in this House tonight in front of partisan politics, because it is important. It is important that we support the workers. It is important that we support the families that still rely on the benefits of Line 5.
I am not going to stand here and say we need to shut down Line 5 because it is going to benefit the environment. That is simply a false narrative. There is a transition toward a green economy. It is not going to happen tomorrow.
It is important that Line 5 not be shut down on May 12. It is important that we continue to support our oil and gas workers. I want to say to my colleagues from Alberta that even though I am from eastern Ontario, I fully support the people of Alberta.
I have a personal connection to Alberta's oil sands because I have a cousin who is a first responder serving those communities. He is the resource person when people are too far away from the hospital. He is the first person to respond to emergency calls because sometimes when people get hurt it is an emergency.
It is true that Line 5 affects not just Alberta, but all of Canada. I believe that it is important that we all stick together and fight to support our government, Line 5 and our oil and gas workers. We know the extent to which Line 5 supports the economy, not just in Alberta, but also in Ontario and Quebec.
Earlier I mentioned how propane still plays a big role in helping our farmers and in my riding. It is also used to heat our homes in some rural areas that unfortunately do not yet have natural gas and where the only way to get heat is with propane tanks.
At some point, I know there is going to be a change and a transition, which is important to talk about. Alberta is an oil-producing province right now, but at some point there will be a green transition, despite the fact that the rest of the world might not be at the same level as Canada in that transition. Some dependence on oil will remain, but at some point the world is going to want access to green technologies. Alberta will be able to play a big role, and if it is not in oil, it will be in some other technology.
In 1910, before Ford marketed its Model T, everyone was using wagons and horses, but we knew we could not depend on those wagons and horses forever. Even today, we say we need oil for our cars, but I know we are transitioning to cars that do not necessarily need gasoline.
This does not mean that Canada does not have a role to play in this new world. We know that we have the 15 mineral components required to do so. We know that Canada can play a major role in this green transition and Alberta needs to be part of the transition, as does Newfoundland.
My message today is that instead of pointing fingers at others in the House, we should join forces against those who want to shut down Line 5. Canada and Canadian workers deserve it.