Cathy McLeod

[Petitions, October 10th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present. Two of them condemn the discrimination against females that occurs through sex-selective pregnancy termination.

The issue of abortion is very divisive in this hall, but I hope that everyone could agree and support that this is a practice about which we are concerned.

[Business of Supply, October 9th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, it is important to look at the facts. The facts are that DFO informed the Government of Quebec that it was considered work and the proposed mitigation measures did not violate the federal Species at Risk Act or the Fisheries Act.

On August 8, in a response to a letter from the ministry of sustainable development, environment and the fight against climate change, DFO also sent to Quebec both documents it produced on the geotechnical work and all the supporting documents that were used to produce its analysis and make a decision about the project.

I do not know if I have to go through the list of all the documents that were provided, but I am happy to further discuss this at any point.

[Business of Supply, October 9th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to have the opportunity to join this debate today, but to be quite frank, I am very surprised that we are actually having this debate. In British Columbia where I am from, the provincial NDP leader announced that he was not going to support a project which he had originally said he was going to wait for the environmental assessment review on. He announced he was not going to support it, to everyone's surprise and shock. Certainly the voters told him what they thought of that particular move in the recent election there. Here we have a project that has not even been applied for, and the New Democrats are opposing it off the top. We have scientists in place, plans in place, systems in place. They might want to learn from their counterparts in British Columbia about allowing proper processes to go through. Anyway, we are here to speak to this motion by the member for Drummond.

As all members know, Canada's energy sector is of great importance to our national economy and our quality of life. Energy is our leading export. The oil and gas sector generates 7.5% of Canada's GDP. All Canadians depend on this energy for their homes and transportation. Over 190,000 people depend on the oil and gas industry for their jobs and their livelihood. In addition, the energy sector provides many other benefits to Canadians. I have to note that almost every time I get on a plane to come to Ottawa, or I go from Kamloops to Vancouver or Calgary, the plane is filled with people who are going to work in Alberta. They are supporting their families. Those jobs are incredibly important to them and to their families.

The energy sector has paid royalties and taxes to government totalling over $23 billion annually over the last five years. These government revenues have helped pay for programs and services for all Canadians, including education, health care and pensions. Again, I have to look at the New Democrats. We consistently hear them wanting a whole variety of new spending on social programs, 45-day work years, increases to this and increases to that. Then they say no to absolutely everything that would potentially provide the resources for some of these programs they are asking for. Canada is very fortunate to have a great wealth of oil and gas resources. We can all take comfort in knowing that the energy sector will continue to generate significant economic activity throughout Canada, including jobs and government revenues for many years to come.

It is for these vital economic reasons that our government is proud to say that we support Canada's energy sector and all of our resource industries. That is why we created our plan for responsible resource development, a plan to ensure the success of Canada's resource industries and the protection of our environment.

Under this plan, we have focused on four key objectives.

We have made the regulatory review process for major projects more timely and predictable. That is really important. Investors need to get to a yes or a no in a relatively timely fashion. Now we have set timelines. Again, getting to that yes or no is absolutely critical.

We have reduced duplication across federal agencies and with provincial organizations. I remember the day when the provincial government would have a process, for example, for a mining project, and the federal government would have a process. There would be duplication of many things. We have taken those processes and had them make more sense so there is not that duplication across the organization.

We have enshrined stronger environmental protection measures in legislation, including new enforcement and compliance tools. We are also strengthening protections for marine transportation, offshore development and pipeline safety.

We are also strongly committed to engaging first nations in every aspect of resource development, underpinning all of these objectives and the many benefits they will bring.

It is a basic fact that major resource projects will only be approved if they are safe for Canada and safe for the environment.

I would like to also note that the Kinder Morgan pipeline has gone through the Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo riding for over 60 years now. When I look at that road, I understand if that pipeline were not there to move that oil to where it goes, there would be 2,300 trucks per day on that highway.

I drive that highway, and I know it is a two-lane highway. There are very few passing lanes. There are some horrific accidents, and I can only imagine what 2,300 extra trucks per day on that road would do.

The community of Kamloops looked at it just the other day and made some suggestions around the routing of the pipeline. We certainly recognize the importance of the gas to the people in Vancouver who regularly use it. I understand that 90% of the gas they use actually comes through that Kinder Morgan pipeline. They probably need to reflect on that particular issue.

I have talked a little bit about pipeline safety, and it is certainly something we all care about. We care about it for the safety of our families, the safety of our communities, and the safety of our environment. I just talked about that road and what the impact to it would be.

Canada's pipelines are among the safest in the world. Between 2008 and 2012, 99.999% of crude oil and petroleum products transported through federally regulated pipelines in Canada was moved safely. Furthermore, during the last 3 years, 100% of the liquids spilled on these pipelines were completely recovered. Our pipeline safety record is outstanding and compares well to the record of Europe and the United States.

There are some 73,000 kilometres of federally regulated pipelines found throughout Canada. These pipelines transport $100 billion worth of oil, natural gas, and petroleum products each year. That is, of course, just the activity that is within Canada. Beyond our borders, as global energy markets change, other nations are moving quickly to capture growing energy markets in places like China and India. As a result, Canada must act now if it wants to continue to fully benefit from the vast resource wealth.

Here, we are talking about the east coast, but I look at British Columbia and the keen interest of the province in terms of the opportunities around LNG. It is very actively trying to enjoy those opportunities for the benefit of British Columbians and Canadians.

Virtually all Canadian exports of oil and gas are destined for the United States, but growth of the unconventional gas and oil industry in the U.S. is making it essential for Canada to broaden its customer base. There is no question that Canada will continue to be a key supplier to the U.S., but shifting global demand and supply conditions clearly make it imperative for Canada to access new growing markets for its energy.

A key to achieving this market diversification is the development of new Canadian infrastructure. To support such expansion, our government is taking concrete actions to strengthen pipeline safety, marine safety, and rail safety, so that our energy transport system continues to be truly world class. The government will soon be introducing legislation to strengthen Canada's pipeline safety regime, and this new legislation will further contribute to its plan for responsible resource development by strengthening incident prevention preparedness and response, and by increasing liability and compensation.

Canada can rightfully be proud of its record for pipeline and marine safety. At the same time, we should never stop trying to do better. It is crucial to keep improving technology and updating regulations to further enhance pipeline safety.

We intend to enshrine the polluter pays principle in law, so that polluters, not taxpayers, will be held financially responsible for the costs and the damages they cause. We will introduce no-fault liability. We will require companies operating pipelines to hold minimum financial resources for incident response. For companies operating major oil pipelines, this financial requirement will be set at $1 billion. Together, these measures will significantly strengthen our pipeline safety regime.

All proposed pipelines will undergo a thorough, objective, science-based review, which will be through the regulatory process of the National Energy Board.

The National Energy Board will consider the potential environmental effects of increased marine shipping activities that would result from proposed projects, including the potential effects of accidents or malfunctions within the scope of its review.

As I stated earlier, no project will be approved unless the government is satisfied that it is safe for Canadians and for the environment.

In conclusion, right now no country in the world transports oil and gas as safely as in Canada. Canadians expect, and deserve, that government and industry should continually strive for the highest safety standards possible in the movement of oil and gas. The pipeline project would play an important role in the export of Canada's energy. The NEB will fully consider the potential impacts.

Again, the NDP wants to say no to a project before there is even an application. It is absolutely absurd. On this side of the House, we believe in having an intense, robust, strong process and letting the scientists do the evaluation, the assessment, make the decisions and advise government on how to move forward.

[Labour, October 2nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, our government believes in safe, productive workplaces. If anyone believes their rights have been violated, they need to follow up on that matter.

We put forward a number of paid internship programs, and the NDP voted against that.

[Registered Disability Savings Plan, October 2nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, under the strong leadership of the Prime Minister and Jim Flaherty, our government introduced the registered disability savings plan in 2007.

This is the first plan of its kind in the world that assists Canadians with disabilities, and their families, in saving for the long term. It is too bad that the opposition parties opposed creating this historic program to help families.

Raising awareness about this important plan, along with the many other savings vehicles available for families to save for their future, is absolutely crucial. That is why I would like to acknowledge the B.C. government's proclamation of October as RDSP Awareness Month, and I encourage all members to continue to highlight its importance with their constituents.

Thanks to smart, innovative Conservative initiatives such as the RDSP, Canadians living with disabilities can be sure that our government will continue supporting them and that Jim's legacy will live on.

[Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, September 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have listened to the debate with great interest. We know the Supreme Court has struck down our existing rules and we know we need new rules. We have come up with what we believe is a solution that would deal with this.

However, from what I hear from the New Democrats, is their position that we should legalize it? They speak very nice words and have very generic kinds of comments, but I have not heard what they believe we should do. Is the hon. member saying legalization?

[Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health, September 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday our Prime Minister addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations, where he focused on Canada's global leadership to end the preventable deaths of mothers and children within a generation.

In his address, he noted the tremendous progress the world has made to save the lives of the world's most vulnerable through significant financial commitments and strategic partnerships. This was generated through the Canadian-led 2010 Muskoka initiative, and then the 2014 Saving Every Woman Every Child: Within Arm's Reach summit, which was in Toronto.

There are very inexpensive things that are making an enormous difference: from training birth attendants to providing small kits that cost five cents to reduce infections in children, newborns, and mothers to providing vitamin A tablets, which make a significant impact on mortality, at a cost of four cents a year.

In the words of our Prime Minister, “We have seen success, and we have momentum. Saving the lives of children and mothers is a fight we can win.”

[Committees of the House, September 23rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, we heard from the victims. We also have taken note of those 40-plus reports that have been written. We need to have strategies to move forward. We do not want the lawyers getting rich. We need to move on action plans. We need to move forward on things that will make a real difference in the lives of these women and children.

[Committees of the House, September 23rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, our committee had 16 recommendations and they form the government's response.

I will just pick one of the pillars, and that is preventing violence by supporting community level solutions. One of the things we heard about was the importance of a community safety plan. The plan put forward by the minister will directly address that and provide support.

The justice department has created a compendium of promising practices, for example. A list of initiatives in aboriginal communities have shown a lot of promise. An example would be outreach to sex trade workers, which gives them hope and empowers women. That one is going on in Prince George.

The committee heard that things were happening across the country. We need to share the things that are happening and provide the tools and the resources to communities to implement and adopt them.

[Committees of the House, September 23rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I was part of the status of women committee when we did a comprehensive report. I was also part of the committee on murdered and missing indigenous women. We did hear the horrific stories, but what I heard out of that was the need to have prevention. We need prevention plans in the community. We need victims to be taken care of.

We hear about our justice system. There was a horrific example last week in British Columbia. We heard the many stories. Our government is moving forward on those very important issues to provide closure and looking at prevention. We are moving in a important way on this issue.