Catherine McKenna

[The Environment, February 12th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the reason that we have brought forward new legislation is to rebuild trust in our environmental assessment process. If we do not have the trust of Canadians, if we are not making decisions based on science, if we are not listening to indigenous peoples, then we are not going to get good projects built.

The proof is in the pudding with the party opposite. It could not get projects built. We have a system that rebuilds trust, that has tighter timelines, and is going to make sure that we protect our environment while ensuring good projects go ahead.

[The Environment, February 12th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the hon. member across the way that we have protections. We know that in the 21st century we must do better. While the previous government attacked environmental programs and protections for our fish and navigable waters, we rebuilt them. We are off to a much better start because we are restoring Canadians' trust in our system.

[Natural Resources, February 9th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I wish the party opposite would actually get into the 21st century. In the 21st century, the environment and the economy go together. Smart businesses know this. That is how we get projects going ahead. That is how we bring people together. That is how we create good jobs for the middle class. I wish they would get on board with the program.

[The Environment, February 9th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, it is quite rich for the opposition party to talk about the politics of environmental assessments. It was the former government that did not make science-based decisions, which is how we lost Canadians' trust and why the projects stalled.

Yesterday, I was very proud to keep the promise we made to Canadians. We can both protect the environment and move forward with good projects.

[Natural Resources, February 9th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted that the Prime Minister announced yesterday, with Salesforce, a $2 billion investment in Canada.

In terms of environmental assessments, we know that in the 21st century if we want projects to go ahead, we need to protect the environment, and then they will go ahead. Under the previous government, they gutted environmental assessments. They reversed protections on fish and fish habitat.

Yesterday, I was pleased to announce that we had delivered on our promise to Canadians that we would protect our environment and we would ensure that good projects go ahead.

[Federal-Provincial Relations, February 8th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, no. We recognize that there is provincial jurisdiction and federal jurisdiction.

When we make decisions or look at projects under federal jurisdiction, we will surely initiate a process. We respect Quebec and Hydro-Québec, but some projects have environmental impacts, and we will ensure a robust environmental assessment process.

[The Environment, February 8th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I am so proud that we have done what we said we were going to do. We have a new environmental assessment process that will earn us Canadians' trust. Indeed, Canadians want us to make decisions based on science, evidence, and indigenous knowledge. They want us to listen to Canadians' concerns. They want us to work with indigenous peoples and they want us to be able to give good projects the green light. That is what we are doing today.

[The Environment, February 8th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I have two words to describe what we announced today: better rules. We understand that we need to have a process to review major projects that is based on good science and indigenous traditional knowledge, that we need to be consulting with Canadians, that we need to be working in partnership with indigenous peoples, and that we need good projects to be able to go ahead in a timely fashion. That is exactly what we announced today.

In terms of the project list, we are not just going to develop it ourselves. We are actually going to listen to Canadians, because we need to make sure that the projects being reviewed are those that have a significant impact on the environment and that Canadians have a clear chance to weigh in.

[Natural Resources, February 8th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, our government will not be lectured by the former one. We know that the environment and the economy go hand in hand. We have restored confidence in the environmental assessment process. That was the cause of the polarization. That is why projects were not moving forward. It was because the former government did not know that the environment and the economy go hand in hand.

[Natural Resources, February 8th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise and proud to be part of the Prime Minister's government. We know that the environment and the economy go together. We are rebuilding trust in our environmental assessment processes. We also know that we need good projects to move forward. The former government could not do both of these things. It did not know how to do both, but we do.