David Lametti

[International Trade, October 3rd, 2016]

Madam Speaker, we are trying to assess the various risks of the agreement under a variety of different scenarios. Those scenarios continue to evolve.

We are within the time parameters that have been established within the treaty. Not a single country has yet to ratify of the 12. We are still moving through the process. The assessment of risks and benefits will change depending on the various scenarios as they move forward.

We are keeping an eye on all of that as we go through and consult. We promised to consult and that is what we are doing. When we are in a position to make a final decision, we will. We will put it before the House.

[International Trade, October 3rd, 2016]

Madam Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to address this issue, and I thank the hon. member for Essex for her question.

The government has delivered on its promise to share with Canadians the independent economic impact assessment completed by the office of the chief economist at Global Affairs Canada.

On September 9, the report on the economic impact of Canada's potential participation in the trans-Pacific partnership agreement was shared with the committee on international trade and made available on the website of the office of the chief economist. There are many reports by leading think tanks and academics seeking to analyze the potential impact of the TPP, which the government will continue to review. The study by the office of the chief economist of Global Affairs Canada contributes to an existing body of research and literature and will help inform our ongoing dialogue with Canadians as we assess Canada's potential participation in the TPP.

As regards innovation, I agree with the hon. member for Essex, as well as Mr. Jim Balsillie, that Canada needs an innovation policy. That is precisely what my colleagues have begun to introduce in this House over the past year.

With regard to innovation, we recognize that the current global economy presents both opportunities and challenges to Canadian creators and innovators who do business on the global market in various areas, particularly with regard to the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights .

Canada's approach to intellectual property recognizes that the interests of Canada as a whole are best served when our intellectual property regime strikes a fair balance between the interests of innovators and creators and those of intellectual property users. That is what the Supreme Court has said on a number of occasions.

We have heard various opinions about whether the intellectual property rules set out in the TPP strike a fair balance for users and creators. We are continuing to hold consultations on that issue with a variety of stakeholders with diverse interests. More generally, our government is introducing an innovation agenda, which, under the direction of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, seeks to support Canadian innovators and entrepreneurs.

Since November, the government itself has received over 30,000 letters and emails through the consultation process. We have also had over 250 interactions with over 500 different stakeholders.

The Minister of International Trade and I have been to more than a dozen cities across Canada to hear directly from Canadians on the TPP. Consultations have taken place in Edmonton, Vancouver, Montreal, Halifax, Oakville, Windsor, Regina, Winnipeg, Quebec City, St. John's, Fredericton, Charlottetown, Toronto, and Guelph. These visits have included meetings, round tables, site visits, and public town halls.

A broad cross-section of Canadians have been involved in these consultations. This includes provincial representatives, female entrepreneurs, innovation firms, farmers, think tanks, the forestry and wood products sector, the fish and seafood sector, indigenous groups, environmental groups, small and medium-sized enterprises, labour unions, auto workers, auto parts manufacturers, port authorities, civil society organizations, academics, students, business leaders, and citizens.

On September 9, the Minister of International Trade and the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs initiated a dialogue with indigenous groups on international trade and investment initiatives, including the TPP.

We are still learning. We are still consulting. We will make a decision when we have to.

[Paris Agreement, October 3rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the process for the approval of pipelines is another way in which we are trying to balance economic need with a primordial mission to protect the environment against climate change. We have established a good set of processes, and we are moving forward in good faith on all of those various projects.

[Paris Agreement, October 3rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, indeed I am aware. I know that 85% of people in Canada are already living in a province or territory committed to carbon pricing. Most experts say that carbon pricing is the way to go. Therefore, it is not surprising that we would find support on all parts of the political spectrum, including members of the Conservative Party across Canada, and former leaders, such as Preston Manning, who have come out in favour of carbon pricing as the solution moving forward.

[Paris Agreement, October 3rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I share the hon. member's passion for this. I believe we are showing leadership. We led in the signing of the Paris accord. We will lead in the implementation of the Paris accord across the world. We fully intend to continually push our targets. What they are today is not necessarily what they will be tomorrow. We intend to meet the commitment we made under Paris, and we intend to lead along the way.

[Paris Agreement, October 3rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour for me to speak today and to follow the hon. parliamentary secretary. I will try to be as eloquent as he was.

It is important for me to speak to this issue today. It is very important for my constituents, as I found out during the course of a consultation in my riding on climate change. It is also one of the reasons the inaction of the previous government and, indeed, its distrust of science and scientists led me to leave my previous employment in the academy and seek public office.

I have to also admit, on a point of pride, that nothing makes a former teacher prouder than to see one of his students sitting in the House as Minister of Environment and Climate Change, which is precisely what happened.

I would like to elaborate and move the discussion from what my hon. colleague has just said.

First, I would like to acknowledge that Canada is committed to creating a cleaner and more innovative economy that reduces emissions and protects our environment, while creating well-paying jobs for the middle class and those who work hard to join it.

Today, the government is proposing its pan-Canadian approach to carbon pricing, as my colleague and the Prime Minister outlined this morning. Under the new plan, all Canadian jurisdictions will have carbon pricing in place by 2018. The Paris agreement emphasizes how Canada will harness the power of renewable energy as a way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Canada has to lead on this, and the government is proposing to lead on this, and this measure will lead us there.

However, for those who fear a carbon tax, this will be a good thing for our economy. Canada's renewable energy and clean-tech industry will begin to play a much more critical role in our Canadian economy. It has developed a base already, but developing a strong Canadian clean technology industry is paramount to the development of a prosperous and sustainable low-carbon economy, and we can help provide solutions globally to address the question of climate change.

This industry contributed $11.6 billion to Canada's GDP in 2014 and directly supported over 55,000 jobs across the country. These are quality jobs that sustain Canadian families. Canada's clean technology entrepreneurs are on a mission to innovate and create high-value, high-quality jobs that have a positive impact on climate change and the environment. There are close to 800 Canadian clean-tech firms operating in Canada. Over 90% of these firms are small and medium-sized enterprises poised for growth.

These companies play a critical role in creating clean electricity, clean energy, and in reducing the environmental footprint for all of Canada's manufacturing industries, including our natural resource industries, helping them to become more efficient and more competitive internationally. This is a 21st century industry sustaining innovative advanced manufacturing jobs from coast to coast to coast and it is one that a carbon price will help spur, continue to grow, and create incentives to grow.

We want Canadian companies to be world leaders in using and developing clean, sustainable technologies and processes that can be exported worldwide. Achieving that goal will strengthen our economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The 2016 federal budget announced a number of investments, including $1 billion for clean energy technology, $2 billion for a fund that will help us work with the provinces to transition to a low-carbon economy; over $100 million for energy efficiency; and $50 million for Sustainable Development Technology Canada.

As part of the new trade and investment strategy and to make the most of the investments in budget 2016 and national plans for sustainable resource development, climate change, and innovation, we consulted Canadian clean technology exporters to find out how the government can help them compete in the global market.

This is a truly national sector with industry clusters, jobs, and commercial benefits stretching across the country. Canada has a strong industrial process cluster in Quebec, a mature water cluster and a renewable energy cluster in Ontario, and marine energy clusters on two coasts. We are the world's leader in carbon capture and storage, with projects stretching across the Prairies, including SaskPower Boundary Dam project, Shell Canada's Shell Quest project in Alberta, and the world's largest carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery project in Midale, Saskatchewan.

In the north, clean technology is even changing the way we mine at Raglan's nickel mine complex in Nunavik. Tugliq Energy, a company headquartered in the riding of my hon. colleague and member for Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, has implemented a new project setting a new standard for industrial scale wind energy in Canada's north. The project features leading-edge energy storage with an Arctic-grade wind turbine and has successfully demonstrated the economic and environmental benefits for Canada's northern mining operations and communities.

Green collar jobs are not low-skill, part-time jobs. They are jobs in innovative fields, including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. This new progressive sector is also noteworthy in that it attracts and employs youth. Twenty-one per cent of employees in the sector are under thirty years of age, a percentage well above the Canadian average.

In global markets, Canadian clean technology businesses punch well above their weight. More than 87% of our small and medium-sized clean technology businesses are exporters, and the clean-tech industry as a whole generates more than 50% of its revenue in global markets.

Although the United States is still our largest export market, Canadian exports of clean technologies are very diverse, and more than 40% of those exports go to markets other than the United States. We now expect that exports will only increase with a sharp global shift to low-carbon economies.

In fact, Asia, Latin America and Africa have shown increasing interest in Canadian clean technologies. There are ample opportunities to increase exports. The Canadian Trade Commissioner Service has new programs such as CanExport, which provides direct financial support to small and medium-sized Canadian firms to help them find new markets, and is ready and eager to help these companies prepare to enter global markets and be successful.

Canadian clean technology firms embody Canadian innovation. The technological dynamism of these firms has contributed to innovations across a broad spectrum of sectors, including renewable green energy, green infrastructure, natural resources, and green transportation.

The Canadian clean technology sector invested approximately 10% of total sector revenue, or $1.2 billion back into research and development in 2014. That is more than 10 times the Canadian average of 0.9%. It even exceeds research and development investments of well-known innovative sectors, such as aerospace and oil and gas.

It should also be pointed out that three-quarters of clean technology research and development spending was made by Canadian SMEs. They firmly believe that strategic investments in innovation are the foundation for sustainable growth, and so do we.

Environmental protection and economic growth go hand in hand. Clean technologies are a key part of the government's approach to promoting sustainable economic growth, and they play an important role in fulfilling our commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

This sector has many benefits for the environment. For example, technologies implemented by 66 companies and funded by Sustainable Development Technology Canada have led to a reduction in greenhouse gases of 4.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents in 2014 alone. This is equivalent to taking 950,000 vehicles off the road for one hour.

Canadian businesses in that industry are net exporters and help countries all around the world reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

For instance, I had the opportunity to visit Canadian Solar, based in Guelph, in my hon. colleague's riding. It is one of the largest manufacturers of photovoltaic systems in the world.

Our government wants to make Canadian firms leaders in the use and development of clean technology, and carbon pricing is a good step to get us there.

[Paris Agreement, October 3rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Sarnia—Lambton for her interesting discourse. I come from a family of engineers, including two of my sisters-in-law. I am very happy to hear the scientific discussion.

My only question for the member is an ethical one. How can we expect to collaborate with other countries in reducing the carbon footprint of everyone around the world if we are not taking measures ourselves, if we are not leading ourselves in terms of reducing our own carbon footprint through a carbon tax, which most experts and economists feel is the way to go?

[Softwood Lumber, September 30th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, we are working very hard on this file. The minister just went to Saguenay to speak with industry representatives and the workers.

Listen to what others have to say about our work. The Conseil du patronat du Québec noted “the efforts of the Minister of International Trade...on behalf of Quebec's forestry industry.” The Quebec Forest Industry Council says it is pleased with our position on Quebec's forestry regime. The positions of Quebec's industry and workers are reflected—“

[Softwood Lumber, September 30th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question.

We are working very hard on this file. Our negotiators are in more or less constant contact with provincial representatives, the workers, the industry, and obviously their U.S. counterparts. We are working very hard on this file to get an agreement that is good for the workers of Canada and Quebec, not just any old agreement.

[Softwood Lumber, September 29th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to share what others are saying about our approach.

The Conseil du patronat du Québec applauded everything we have done in defence of the Quebec forestry industry. The Quebec Forest Industry Council says it is pleased with our position on Quebec's forestry regime. Even the spokesperson for the Lac-Saint-Jean Unifor forestry unions praised our government's efforts.

The opposition is alone in refusing to recognize everything we are doing to protect workers in Quebec and Canada.