Debates of Dec. 3rd, 2024

Carbon Pricing

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Madam Speaker, I believe the question originated as talking about carbon pricing, but I am really happy if we are going to talk about the cap on emissions from oil and gas instead.

I would like to begin with the point that emissions in Canada are on their way down. That is a good thing. When the Liberals first formed government, emissions were tracking upward and there was no path to bring them down. Today, our emissions are lower than they have been in almost three decades.

That is real progress and that is what our young people want to see from us, as do our next generations. They know if we do not take action on climate change, we are going to see more and more natural disasters and we are also going to lose the economic opportunities we have here in our country to provide energy, know-how and innovation that we are creating right here. In fact, we see time and time again that we are developing that important know-how.

If we want to look at examples of how we are supporting great energy projects right here in our country, we do not have to look any further than the Oneida battery project with Six Nations not far from Toronto. It is kind of in southern Ontario. It will be one of the largest battery projects in all of North America.

It was created with the help of the Canada Infrastructure Bank and the federal government. It ensures we are working as a partnership. It is a question of reconciliation but it is also about how we create that battery storage for the days the member opposite was bringing up, where maybe there is less sun and less wind. We do have those other solutions and the world is looking for those other energy solutions.

That is why we have worked with Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nova Scotia to develop an offshore wind industry. We have created changes in the Atlantic accords to make that happen. That is what they were looking for from us. Time and time again, we are working to make sure that Canada is at the forefront of fighting climate change and that we are on track to meet our targets. We are, by the way, on track to meet our interim targets for 2026. The oil and gas emissions cap will help us to be on track to meet our further targets.

We need to take these actions. We need to do it for our economy. We need to do it for our planet.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague who I have worked with before and I appreciate what she has stated.

I will talk specifically about the carbon tax and the sugar beet industry in Canada. We now have one place left in Canada that refines sugar. We need sugar. It is a growing industry in our country. In Ontario, we grow about 10,000 tonnes of sugar beet. It is trucked to Michigan. Where is the carbon tax sense in that? It is an industry we have in southern Alberta, but with the carbon tax, it is getting so expensive to grow, to truck and to have it done as it should be so we retain this part of our industry in Canada. It is important, but the carbon tax makes it so difficult for us to compete in the world market.

That is an industry we need in southern Alberta. This is an industry we need for Canada. The carbon tax threatens it.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Madam Speaker, how sweet that I get to talk about sugar for a second, because right in downtown Toronto, we have Redpath Sugar. I got to go to Redpath Sugar and look at the improvements that are being made with federal support from Agriculture Canada to help it reduce its energy costs and energy needs so it is more efficient. It actually is helping its bottom line. It was also helping make a safer environment for its workers.

Yes, even with sugar, we are making improvements while actually fighting climate change.

Natural Resources

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Madam Speaker, I rise today to have a chance to address, once again, the government's emissions cap, which is better known as its production cap, because we know that, by implementing the emissions cap, we are going to see a reduction of about a million barrels of oil in production in Canada by 2030. There have been various reports that have been done on this that show this is going to happen.

One of the strategic advantages that Canada has enjoyed for the last number of decades has been our reliable, affordable and efficient energy production. That has been done largely through the oil and gas sector that we have here in Canada. Let us also talk about some of the benefits that our communities receive from the oil and gas sector.

When we look at communities around southwest Saskatchewan, for example, the town of Shaunavon has the Crescent Point Wickenheiser Centre, which has a community skating rink, the curling rink, meeting rooms and event spaces. In Kindersley, Inter Pipeline just entered into a 10-year partnership to be the naming rights sponsor for the event centre arena, which supports the minor hockey program there, as well as the Kindersley Klippers in the SJHL.

Just last month, in my hometown of Swift Current, Whitecap Resources made a $100,000 commitment toward the Southwest Facility Foundation, which is going to be a new multi-purpose facility that we are looking to build in Swift Current. Beyond that, we can look at the Dr. Noble Irwin Regional Healthcare Foundation with the various donors who are on the list and the various businesses that are donating to the success of health care all across southwest Saskatchewan. Particularly in Swift Current, we see people who are entrepreneurs in the oil and gas sector. We see the small businesses that are operating in the service industry. They are the ones who are donating to these causes.

When we look at our minor sports teams, when we look at the boards of people who have donated, who are either platinum, gold or silver sponsors of minor sports, whether it is hockey or baseball, again, it is energy companies that are the ones leading the charge on making donations to minor sports, to minor hockey.

For senior centres, schools and education, it is these companies that are the ones putting their dollars into these facilities and into the various courses and classes that are available. These are the companies that need to be supported, but these are the companies that the Liberal government is deliberately attacking and is trying to wipe out with its draconian policies, such as the emissions cap, which, as I said, is a production cap.

Let us look further at what is going to happen here. In these reports, which I referenced earlier, 150,000 jobs are expected to be lost because of the emissions cap. When we look at the average salary in the oil and gas sector, it is over $151,000, which is 2.4 times greater than the average salary across the Canadian economy.

In 2030, when this emissions cap is fully implemented, we are going to see a drop of $34.5 billion in economic potential in Canada. When we game that out, that averages out to a drop of $420 per month for the average family across the country in disposable income. That is going to be the result and the track record of the government.

I do not know why Liberals are so committed to trying to devastate the Canadian economy. They know that the natural resource sector, particularly the oil and gas sector, is the driver of the Canadian economy. It is what produces good jobs. It is the industry that is the single largest investor in renewable energy in this country. That is who they are directly assaulting.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Madam Speaker, I am not even sure how to fully respond to the speech I just heard, which was a list of the donations made by the oil and gas industry to the member's community. That is great. I just do not really know how to respond to that, except to say that in my community, local sports are supported by many different community organizations and businesses, and I thank them very much for their support.

I do not think that this is actually what we are supposed to be debating today. I do not think that this is necessarily the most important issue that we have to talk about. I think the most important issue that we have to talk about, and the member opposite did touch on this as well, is the future for our economy, our environment and our planet, here in this country and around the world. I think that one of the things that frustrates me sometimes is that there is not enough focus, as well, on all of the opportunities.

It is so frustrating to always be talking in the negative. There are opportunities and the world is looking to us for those opportunities. In fact, Romania, wanting to make sure that it can stay away from Russian oil, turned to Canada. We are providing expertise in providing more nuclear support and building out nuclear energy more. That is something that we can provide. When we look at other places where we are working with our allies, we have the know-how and the go-to. That is something that we need to be continuing to bring forward.

Just recently, I got to go to the graduation of the first all-female class of new millwrights, who will be working at the Darlington refurbishment. There is a great opportunity there for good-paying union jobs for these women coming out of the program. There are opportunities, and we need to be seizing them. At the same time, we need to be fighting climate change because that is the most existential threat for our planet. Let us do both. Let us stop focusing on the negative. Let us look at all that we can achieve. That is, in fact, what we are doing.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Madam Speaker, I am not sure why she says we should not focus on the negative. She says we should not focus on the loss of $35 billion from the Canadian economy, the drop in GDP that is going to happen on this or the 150,000 job losses that are going to come about because of the emissions cap. That is what she does not want to focus on. She does not want people to know about these kinds of things. She is going to talk about the environment, saying that we have to do so much for the environment. Oil and gas companies have been leading the charge in investments in trying to reduce their methane emissions. They have been working on efficiencies. Over the years, they have actually decreased emissions in their sector on their own, without government mandates. They have been the single biggest driver in making sure that the most ethical, highest standards are met in Canadian oil and energy but that this is also done in a way that it is still affordable for Canadians to have reliable energy. This is the strategic advantage that Canada has, but the Liberal government wants to make it go away. It is a shame.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Madam Speaker, I am trying not to talk down our economy, because I know we can accomplish so much more. What we should also know is that the oil and gas sector is Canada's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and that the emissions from that part of the sector continue to grow. I do not even understand what the confusion is about why we should have a cap on emissions from the oil and gas sector. Pathways originally said that they were on track, that they wanted to do the very same thing, so where is the argument? We need to do this for our economy and for the environment.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 2 p.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 7:15 p.m.)