Jim Carr

[Natural Resources, April 26th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, we have been very clear with Canadians. We will build this pipeline. We know that the environment and the economy go hand in hand, and that is the approach we are taking.

Funding should never go to pay for work that seeks to remove Canadians' hard-fought-for rights. Voicing opposition over an energy project and putting kids to work distributing graphic flyers of aborted fetuses, as the Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform did, are not the same thing. This is about protecting Canadians' rights, such as women's rights, something that our government will do regardless of what the opposition says.

[Natural Resources, April 24th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the member knows that the proponent backed out of energy east because the price of oil had tanked and because there had been no pipelines approved. Since then, three pipelines have been approved, so it is pretty clear that business conditions have changed.

It is also clear that the government understands very well that we want to move our resources to market sustainably. We understand that in 2018 the economy and the environment go hand in hand.

[Natural Resources, April 24th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure the hon. member is as pleased as we are that there have been 50,000 new jobs created in Alberta. I am sure the member opposite is also very pleased, because she is an Albertan, to know that Alberta is going to lead the country in GDP growth.

Members on this side of the House continue to be optimistic and bullish about the growth of the western Canadian economy, and all the members opposite talk about is doom and gloom.

We believe in entrepreneurship and innovation, and in the spirit of the people of Alberta.

[Natural Resources, April 24th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad the member opposite agrees with us that having 99% of our export of oil and gas go to one country, the United States, is not a very good idea, which is why we want to expand our export markets. It is too bad that, in 10 years of government, the Conservatives did not do that. They did not build one kilometre of pipeline to access export markets.

In a way, the hon. member is helping us make the argument that we need to do exactly that to get a better price for our oil and to create good jobs for Canadians, and that is what we intend to do.

[Natural Resources, April 23rd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, we agree with the hon. member. We think this kind of investment in Canada's energy sector is good not only for Alberta and British Columbia but for all of the country. When the Prime Minister and the Minister of Infrastructure and I were in Fort McMurray, we met with Canadians from every region of the country. We were reminded then, as we are reminded every day, that a strong energy sector for Canada is good for all Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

[Natural Resources, April 23rd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, we expanded export capacity for the Alberta Clipper project, the Nova Gas pipeline, the Line 3 replacement project, and the Trans Mountain expansion pipeline. We support the Keystone XL pipeline.

Their record in 10 years in office was not one kilometre of pipe built to expand our export markets, failed attempts to consult with indigenous people, and no attention paid to environmental stewardship. Why would we follow that failed record?

[Natural Resources, April 23rd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that the member, who is from Alberta, has so little confidence in the entrepreneurship of Albertans and the capacity of Albertans to innovate. It was their innovation that gave us the opportunity to develop this resource in the first place.

Does the member find that all this talk about doom and gloom gives inspiration to foreign investors to invest in Canada? Perhaps she is part of the problem.

[Natural Resources, April 23rd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, investment in Canada was up in 2017. I just had conversations with international investors this morning, who say that in international conferences the word on Canada is that it is a wonderful place to invest, because of the stability of our political system and because of the availability of a skilled and diverse labour market.

Again, we have members of the opposition from Alberta who can only talk doom and gloom about Alberta when Alberta is leading the Canadian economy. We are all proud of that on this side of the House.

[Natural Resources, April 23rd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member said a sevenfold increase in tanker traffic. Actually, it is one more tanker a day—one—which will be surrounded by world-class spill response at a time when indigenous people, for the first time, have been involved from day one in becoming a part of the monitoring of the safety of the line, and we believe that we are going to leave the backyard of indigenous people better than we had found it.

[Natural Resources, April 23rd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the pipeline was approved by the Government of Canada with 157 conditions because we believe that the pipeline will create good jobs for Canadians, will open up export markets so that we do not have to rely on only one single market, the United States, and at the same time will give us a better price for a our resources. It makes very good economic sense.

At the same time, there is the $1.5 billion investment to create a world-class oceans protection plan and a co-developed monitoring scheme with indigenous peoples.

Growth, environmental stewardship, and partnership with indigenous peoples—that is the recipe for growth.