House of Commons Hansard #367 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was documents.
The Speaker Liberal Greg Fergus
Before I recognize the Leader of the Opposition, I just want to remind all members not to stand up too soon, before they are recognized, even during question period, because it is a bit distracting. I have seen this on both sides of the House.
The hon. Leader of the Opposition.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, it would be bad enough for the Prime Minister to want to give our energy jobs to the Americans, who have doubled their production over the last couple of decades, but he wants to actually give our energy jobs over to the Venezuelan, Iranian and Russian dictatorships by cutting Canadian energy production by 35%. The Americans reduced their emissions, while ours went up, by increasing natural gas production and using it to replace dirty coal. We could do exactly the same. Why will the Prime Minister not follow a common-sense plan to produce more clean, green Canadian energy, rather than giving our jobs to dirty dictators?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, what this little performance was designed to distract from is the fact that under the Conservative government of Mr. Harper and the current leader, they could not get anything built. We built the Trans Mountain pipeline extension. We built TMX. We understand that getting good prices for our oil was important, not just for Alberta but for the entire Canadian economy.
We are moving forward to make sure that even as oil companies are making record profits, we are putting a cap not on production and profits but on emissions because Canadians care.
The Speaker Liberal Greg Fergus
I would ask the hon. member for Lakeland to please not take the floor unless she is recognized by the Chair.
The hon. Leader of the Opposition.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, common-sense Conservatives approved and saw the completion of four pipelines with no tax dollars to subsidize them because we believe businesses should make money rather than take money.
By contrast, the Prime Minister has pushed $100 billion of energy investment out of Canada, most of it into the United States. I can imagine that the champagne will be popping over at the Trump Tower when they find out how much more Canadian money the Prime Minister wants to send south.
Why does he want to kill Canadian jobs? Why do we not bring home production and paycheques for our people?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition just admitted that he would not have put a penny into TMX. He would not have made it happen.
This matters to Alberta. It matters to the oil workers there—
Justin Trudeau Liberal Papineau, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative leader just admitted he would not have invested in TMX. He would not have gotten it built.
However, on this side of the aisle, we will stand up for Alberta. We will stand up for our oil and gas workers across the country because we know that getting overseas markets for our oil and gas is—
Justin Trudeau Liberal Papineau, QC
Mr. Speaker, once again we see that the Conservative leader will not stand up for workers across the country. He will not stand up for Albertan oil workers. We got the TMX pipeline built because we know that getting a better price for our oil by being able to ship it across the Pacific is a way of creating jobs and prosperity, allowing us to build strong jobs and an economy for the future.
The Conservative leader does not understand that we need to invest in workers to build a stronger future, not offer them cuts.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, when we were in government, we did not have to offer $30-billion bailouts for pipelines, because they made money. That is how business works. The Prime Minister wants to create a bailout economy.
Let us clarify how this worked. Of the $30 billion, $7 billion went to a Texas oil company that took our tax dollars down to Texas to build American pipelines. All our exes are in Texas. Why do we not bring home those jobs for Canada?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, we just heard very clearly from the leader of the Conservative Party that he would not have built the TMX pipeline. We know how important it is to make sure we get a good price for our oil so we can invest in the kinds of solutions and technologies that will continue to create prosperity and opportunity for energy workers not just in Alberta but right across the country. We will continue to be there to invest in a stronger future by understanding that renewables are an important part of the future, but we need to be able to pay for them.
The Conservative leader does not understand how to build a strong future or how to build a strong economy.
Yves-François Blanchet Bloc Beloeil—Chambly, QC
Mr. Speaker, the United States has not even finished counting the votes and the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition are already arguing over who will be the most pro-oil. It is outrageous.
Do I understand correctly that they are both completely abandoning any consideration for the climate and the green economy in favour of a Canadian oil economy?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, it is rather ironic to be asked a question like that by someone who approved oil and gas exploration in Anticosti.
The reality is that we are well aware that we need to build a greener economy and protect the environment at the same time. That is why we are setting a cap on greenhouse gas emissions from Canada's oil and gas industry. We put a price on pollution while putting more money back in Canadians' pockets. We have continued to reduce our emissions while creating economic growth, a first for Canada.
We will protect the environment and we will create jobs.
Yves-François Blanchet Bloc Beloeil—Chambly, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister would be well advised to double-check the nonsense he is spouting. I have never approved oil and gas exploration anywhere in the world.
With that said, we will now talk about security, because tomorrow I will become the next leader in the House who has seen the report that names the MPs compromised by foreign powers. That leaves one leader who might not want to do some housecleaning among his gang.
When it comes to security, first of all, is the Prime Minister going to ensure that the Americans will keep supporting Ukraine? Second, is he going to contribute his 2% of the GDP to Canadian military spending?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, obviously, I may not always agree with the leader of the Bloc Québécois, but facts are facts, and I have to thank him for getting his security clearance so that he, like all the other party leaders, except for the Conservative Party leader, can live up to our responsibility to protect our democracy. Indeed, the Conservative Party leader, for some inexplicable reason—I do not know what he is hiding—refuses to get his security clearance and receive the secret security briefings that will enable him to protect his party and, therefore, protect democracy.
For some unknown reason, he refuses to take this seriously.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, given that we have just seen an American election, I can quote another American president, who could aptly describe the Prime Minister's economic policy: “If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” Instead of doing none of the above, which would allow our entrepreneurs to actually build things on their own without sticking taxpayers with the bill, does he want to know our common-sense plan? We will repeal unconstitutional Bill C-69, we will scrap the cap and we will axe the tax.
Why will he not call a carbon tax election so we can bring home these jobs?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, when we stood up for Canadian jobs, Canadian oil producers and Canadian steel and aluminum workers, the Conservative Party called that dumb. We will always stand up and defend Canadian jobs, as we have in the past, as we create more opportunities for Canadians right across the country and as we protect our national security.
What the Americans will not understand is why the Leader of the Opposition, who desperately wants to become prime minister, refuses to get the necessary security clearances so he can keep his party safe.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, I have already explained how half a trillion of our dollars have left the country since the Prime Minister took office. Canadian investment dollars are paying American workers while our people cannot afford food and homes. Do not take my word for how uninvestable the country has become. Take the word of carbon tax Carney. The Prime Minister's lead economic adviser has just moved his $100-billion company to New York City.
If the Prime Minister's own top economic adviser does not have faith in his economic plan, then why should anyone else?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, what the leader of the Conservative Party has not explained is why he is treating national security like a dodge ball game. He ducks allegations of foreign interference in his own caucus. He dives as he turns a blind eye toward investments in our communities by foreign interferers. He dodges the tools necessary to keep his party safe. Why will he not get the briefing, get the clearance and protect Canadians?
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister likes to spread crackpot conspiracy theories instead of defending his economic record, but why would he not? When someone doubles housing costs, they distract. When they double food bank use, they divide. When they double gun crime, they use fear to turn people's attention away. When they double the national debt to a point that even their top economic adviser is fleeing the economic carnage they have created, they do anything possible to change the subject.
If the Prime Minister cannot defend his economic record, why do we not have a carbon tax election so that I can take the lead?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the leader cannot even defend the members of his own caucus because he refuses to get the necessary security clearance. He likes to talk about crackpot conspiracy theories. It is not a crackpot conspiracy theory when his own members of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians signed a report, which was released publicly, that talks about the fact that the Indian government interfered in past Conservative leadership campaigns. Is that perhaps why he refuses to get the necessary security clearance? Does he not think he would pass the security clearance because of Indian interference in his—