Debates of June 11th, 2025

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Chair, I can answer for him: Qatar.

Who did Japan sign an LNG agreement with?

[Tim Hodgson, Liberal, Markham—Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Chair, this government is focused on passing the one Canadian economy act. That will help us grow our LNG.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Chair, the answer is Japan, if the minister cannot answer those questions. What would have been the revenue to the Canadian federal government had it signed those LNG agreements with Germany, Japan, Greece and Poland?

[Tim Hodgson, Liberal, Markham—Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Chair, this government is focused on moving forward, not backward. This new government is proposing, with the support of all the premiers, to pass the one Canadian economy act. That will have us—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Conservative, John Nater]

The hon. member.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Chair, what would have been the revenue to the federal government had the Trudeau Liberals signed those LNG agreements with our most trusted allies: Germany, Japan, Poland and Greece?

[Tim Hodgson, Liberal, Markham—Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Chair, the member seems to be implying that by coming up with these sorts of numbers, it affects our ability to get projects done. I would like to let the member know I have built major projects throughout my career.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Chair, the LNG agreement between Japan and the United States is 5.5 million cubic feet of LNG every single year.

What is the value of that, in Canadian dollars, had Canada had that agreement?

[Tim Hodgson, Liberal, Markham—Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Chair, I believe yesterday the value of natural gas closed on AECO-C at $1.01. Obviously, that is not how these projects work. They have long-term contracts and are set with suppliers, but we are focused on—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Conservative, John Nater]

The hon. member.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Chair, Japan has signed a long-term agreement for LNG with the United States, our number one competitor.

What would the value of that have been to Canadian taxpayers and revenue to the federal government had that agreement been signed with Canada?

[Tim Hodgson, Liberal, Markham—Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Chair, he can do the math if he wants to tell me the amount of product that is sold in the long-term contract; we can figure that out. We are not focused on going back—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Conservative, John Nater]

The hon. member, final question.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Chair, he should be focused on this. This is lost jobs and revenue for Canadians because of the government's ideological position on Canadian LNG.

Does the minister believe that to reach consensus, any province, territory or group has a veto on a national infrastructure project?

[Tim Hodgson, Liberal, Markham—Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Chair, what we believe is that the Prime Minister and the premiers got together in Saskatoon with a shared vision. What the Prime Minister has said is that consensus is better than not having consensus. We will pass the one Canadian economy act. We will get consensus—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Conservative, John Nater]

Resuming debate.

The hon. member for Kenora—Kiiwetinoong.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora—Kiiwetinoong, ON]

Mr. Chair, mining is critical to our economic independence, yet the Liberals have continually put up roadblocks to development every step of the way.

How long does it take to approve a mine in Canada today?

[Tim Hodgson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Chair, under the one Canadian economy act, the intention is that all the federal permits would be delivered within two years or less.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora—Kiiwetinoong, ON]

Mr. Chair, how long does it take to approve a mine in Canada today?

[Tim Hodgson, Liberal, Markham—Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Chair, today, it takes far too long; I think we have all admitted that. What the one Canadian economy act would do is speed things up dramatically. If that is what the members want, they should support us in—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Conservative, John Nater]

The hon. member has the floor.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora—Kiiwetinoong, ON]

Mr. Chair, the Mining Association of Canada states that it takes up to 15 years for a mine to be approved in Canada today. The minister says that this is too long. I agree.

There are 42 projects awaiting approval through the current impact assessment process. Why not start with approving those projects?

[Tim Hodgson, Liberal, Markham—Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Chair, over the last several weeks, I have been meeting with many of the CEOs of the largest mining companies in Canada. They are very supportive of the one Canadian economy act. They think it is how we will move forward. If the hon. member would like to see things move forward, he should support us in passing the bill.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora—Kiiwetinoong, ON]

Mr. Chair, the northern road link that has been proposed by Marten Falls First Nation and Webequie First Nation has been under assessment for two years. As I mentioned, during the lost Liberal decade projects have been stalled through the impact assessment process.

On what date will the northern road link project be approved?

[Tim Hodgson, Liberal, Markham—Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Chair, if they help us get the one Canadian economy act—