Jim Carr

[Natural Resources, April 16th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite forgot to mention the $1.5 billion oceans protection plan. He did not mention it because, for whatever reason, he is not prepared to admit that this government has established and will establish a world-class system to protect our coasts. Why is that not part of the conversation? This is a coast that the member and his riding know all too well is essential not only to British Columbiana but to all Canadians.

[Natural Resources, April 16th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the member talks about the same process that was used by the Harper government. As I said a moment ago, we changed the process. We added layers of consultation with indigenous peoples, because the Federal Court of Appeal said that the Harper government did not consult enough. We sent an expert panel that went up and down the line. There are now 44 indigenous communities that will benefit, 33 of them in British Columbia.

We know that projects like this do not achieve consensus everywhere. We do know that this is in the national interest.

[Natural Resources, April 16th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, approved pipelines, job creation for the people of Alberta, for the people of western Canada, compared to the 10-year record of the Harper Conservative government of not one kilometre of pipeline built to tidewater, no consultation with indigenous people, court cases that said the Harper government had failed in its constitutional responsibilities, no conversation with the importance of energy and the environment being part of the conversation, why would we want to mimic that record of failure?

[Natural Resources, April 16th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I do not talk to the press enough and I talk to the press too much.

All the time we look at ways to embolden and enhance the oil and gas sector and the future of the energy sector in Canada. As a matter of fact, it was only a week ago when the Prime Minister and I were in Fort McMurray, talking to workers and CEOs within the energy sector, understanding the importance of certainty for investment, the importance of investment in the sector internationally, that Canada was a place where people could have confidence. That is why we are determined to see this project, in the national interest, will be built.

[Natural Resources, April 16th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. friend says running away from the media. Last week, Country 93.3 in Fort McMurray, The Globe and Mail, CBC Radio in Vancouver, 660 News in Calgary, the Calgary Herald, Bloomberg Media, CBC/Radio Alberta, the Toronto Star, 770 news in Calgary, the Canadian Press, Radio/Canada in Edmonton, the Daily Oil Bulletin, Le Devoir, Global News, CKNW Vancouver, Global News TV in Edmonton, I had ample opportunity to talk about the government's position to the media and to the country.

[Natural Resources, April 16th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Leader of the Opposition, in front of a national audience, decided to speak before the Premier of Alberta and before the Prime Minister of Canada. He has powers of intuition beyond the normal. He was in tune with exactly what the premier and the Prime Minister were going to say so well, but he spoke before they did.

We are looking for the Leader of the Opposition's vision of the energy future for Canada, not seeking to speak—

[Natural Resources, April 16th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the member knows that the Government of Canada has engaged in unprecedented consultation with indigenous communities. Up and down the line, we know that 44 indigenous communities have signed benefit agreements with Kinder Morgan, 33 of them are in British Columbia. Others have been involved with us in establishing a monitoring committee co-developed between the government and indigenous communities for the first time in Canadian history.

[Natural Resources, April 16th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, major projects such as this are by their very nature controversial, and they divide communities. There are many people in British Columbia who think this is a very important project for Canada. As a matter of fact, it even divides political parties. Perhaps the member would want to organize a meeting with the NDP premiers of Alberta and British Columbia to see what kind of consensus he can arrange.

[Natural Resources, April 16th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, the Trans Mountain expansion project was approved by the British Columbia government, and there was an environmental assessment process in British Columbia that led to the approval.

Second, we did not use the same rules as the Harper administration. We used different ones, which led to incredible consultation, historic consultation, with indigenous peoples up and down the line. After months of consultation and tens of thousands of conversations, we approved this in Canada's interests.

[Natural Resources, April 16th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the government approved the Line 3 replacement project. It is already under way with construction in Alberta and Saskatchewan. There will be further construction in the coming weeks in Manitoba.

We are in support of the Keystone XL project. We have approved the TMX project. This will result in tens of thousands of jobs being created for Canadians. It will give us an opportunity to expand our export markets. As members know, 99% of the export of oil and gas in Canada goes to one country, the United States.

At the same time, we are investing unprecedented—