House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 49% of the vote.
Ethics April 21st, 2010
Mr. Speaker, it was this government that enacted legislation to monitor lobbyists' activities and they must comply with the law or be subject to the sanctions contained therein. A commissioner is responsible for enforcement of the act. If the opposition has allegations to make, it should address them to the appropriate authorities.
Ethics April 21st, 2010
Mr. Speaker, this government passed a clear law with which lobbyists must comply. A commissioner is responsible for compliance with the act. The serious allegations that have been brought to the attention of the Prime Minister have been forwarded to the appropriate authorities who will draw their own conclusions. There is no connection to the business of government.
Ethics April 20th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, allegations were referred to the proper authorities. The RCMP is investigating and will draw its own conclusions. However, one thing is clear: these allegations do not concern government affairs, nor do they have anything to do with ministers, other members or senators. I want to emphasize that this is this party, on this side of the House, that set the toughest legislation on political party financing.
Ethics April 20th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, about ten days ago, the Prime Minister was informed of disturbing allegations that he referred to the proper authorities. The RCMP is now investigating and will draw its own conclusions.
Ethics April 19th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister acted promptly and responsibly. When he was made aware of serious allegations, he referred them to the appropriate authorities.
These allegations have nothing to do with government business. If the member has allegations and information to submit, she can should bring them forward here or outside the House. But she must stop this fishing expedition.
Ethics April 19th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, that is the same question, and I will give the same answer.
I think that what is important here is that when the Prime Minister was made aware of serious allegations, he promptly referred them to the appropriate authorities. That said, the RCMP is working on the matter and will come to its own conclusions.
Ethics April 19th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, a week and a half ago, the Prime Minister was made aware of serious allegations that he promptly referred to the appropriate authorities. The RCMP is working on the matter. The allegations have nothing to do with any other member, senator or government employee.
Ethics April 19th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, a week and a half ago, the Prime Minister was made aware of serious allegations that he promptly referred to the appropriate authorities. The RCMP is working on the matter and will come to its own conclusions. Let me make it very clear that these allegations in no way affect the business of government.
Questions on the Order Paper April 15th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, the answer is as follows: a) According to the National Energy Board’s, NEB, July 2009 reference case scenario, Canada’s natural gas resource base is estimated at 439 trillion cubic feet, TCF, which would last more than 80 years at current production rates. As new shale gas resources are evaluated, this estimate could rise. The total natural gas resource includes proven reserves, which are ready to produce, plus estimated volumes, which are likely to be found and produced in the future.
According to a May 2009 NEB report, Canada’s total remaining conventional crude oil and crude bitumen, oil sands, reserves are 176.8 billion barrels, Bbbl. This represents the crude oil and bitumen that can be economically extracted from the ground with a high degree of certainty using existing technology. At 176.8 Bbbl, Canada’s proven oil reserves are second only to Saudi Arabia and would last approximately 200 years at the current rate of production. Alberta estimates that an additional 315 Bbbl of bitumen could ultimately be recovered from the oil sands with anticipated technological advancements.
Based on the World Energy Council’s Survey of Energy Resources 2007, Canada has 8.7 billion tonnes, BT, of proven coal resources in place, of which 6.6 BT have been identified as recoverable reserves. At the present production rate, Canada’s recoverable coal reserves would offer approximately 94 years of production.
b) Organizations such as the International Energy Agency, IEA, and the NEB rely on global energy resource and reserve estimates from the Oil and Gas Journal and the United States’s, U.S., Geological Survey. The world’s proven oil reserves have doubled in size since 1980. According to the U.S. Geological Survey’s reference scenario, three trillion barrels, Tbbl, of oil could ultimately be recovered globally.
According to the Oil and Gas Journal’s annual “World-wide Look at Oil and Gas Reserves”, global proven oil and natural gas reserves are estimated at 1,342 Bbbl and 6,254 TCF respectively. Since 1980, the world’s proven oil and natural gas reserves have doubled in volume. World natural gas supplies have a probable lifetime in excess of 130 years.
According to the IEA‘s coal information 2009, the world’s proven recoverable coal reserves amounts to 990 BT. Based on the 2008 production rate, the world’s recoverable coal reserves would provide approximately 145 years of production.
c) The latest NEB oil futures reports indicate that Canada’s oil production is not expected to peak in the foreseeable future. Rather, Canadian crude production will continue to increase to the year 2030, led by oil sands production.
Canada’s conventional natural gas production rate may have peaked at 494.8 million cubic metres per day, 17.5 billion cubic feet per day, in 2001. However, shale gas development in Canada is just beginning and could lead to higher annual Canadian natural gas production.
Canada produces coking coal and thermal coal, the production of which is projected to remain stable in the short- to mid-term as no new coal-fired power generation plants are expected to come on stream.
It is also important to note that Canada has vast amounts of oil and natural gas “in place”, or known to exist underground. These volumes are not currently included in resource estimates, as these “in place” volumes are not recoverable using current technology. For example, the total discovered oil sands “in place” volume is estimated at 1.7 Tbbl; significantly more than the total global oil production to date. As technology continues to improve, some of the “in place” volumes which are not currently economically recoverable are likely to become recoverable.
d) According to the IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2009, global oil, natural gas and coal production is expected to grow between now and 2030 and no peak in production is forecast in the reference scenario. The reference scenario is a long-term production estimate based on current government policies.
Questions on the Order Paper April 15th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, the report “From Impacts to Adaptation: Canada in a Changing Climate 2007”, coordinated by Natural Resources Canada and published on March 7, 2008, is a comprehensive scientific assessment of climate change impacts and adaptation in Canada. The goal of the report was to provide a state-of-the-science synthesis that identified important climate change impacts in Canada and to provide a knowledge foundation for adaptation decision-making.
Since publication of “From Impacts to Adaptation: Canada in a Changing Climate 2007”, the Government of Canada through various departments and agencies has undertaken a number of initiatives to improve its knowledge of the economic costs of both climate change impacts and of adaptation. These on-going initiatives include: 1. Natural Resources Canada’s “Guidance on the Economics of Adaptation” project which will provide practical guidelines to better i) understand and assess the economic threats and opportunities presented by climate change and ii) cost, prioritize and sequence adaptation strategies into plans and budgets in a context of uncertainty and competing needs. 2. Environment Canada’s examination of approaches to estimating and forecasting the economic impacts of climate change which will focus initially on the economic impacts on Canadian space heating and cooling expenditures, agriculture production, and costs associated with sea level rise. 3. The National Roundtable on the Environment and Economy’s “Economic Risks and Opportunities of Climate Change” program which includes research to estimate sector-specific costs of climate change impacts and the role of adaptation in reducing costs, focussing on public infrastructure, human health, forestry, and coastal zones.
In addition to this work on methodologies and cross-sectoral analysis, many federal departments are now looking at the economic costs of climate change impacts and adaptation as part of their own risk management processes.
One of the key findings of “Canada in a Changing Climate” was that a wide range of players are involved in adaptation decision-making, including all levels of government, the private sector, and individuals / community organizations. Hence additional work on the economic costs of adaptation is being undertaken by provincial and territorial governments, municipalities, resource managers, etc.
Natural Resources Canada has developed a new regional adaptation collaborative, RAC, program to help advance adaptation decision-making across Canada by drawing together a diverse array of public and private stakeholders and focusing on the development of guidance and best practices, including economic analysis. The program will support focussed collaboration at the regional level among government, non-government decision-makers, and technical experts to facilitate regional adaptation planning and decision-making. More information can be found at www.adaptation.nrcan.gc.ca.