Jim Carr

[Natural Resources, May 30th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister said just this morning, the decision we took on the Trans Mountain pipeline was based on facts and evidence and on what is in the best interests of Canadians.

Regardless of a change in government in British Columbia, or anywhere, the facts and evidence do not change. We understand that growing a strong economy for the future requires taking leadership on the environment, and we have to do those two things together. That is what drives us in the choices we make, and we stand by those choices.

[Questions on the Order Paper, May 29th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, in response to paragraph (a), the criteria used to select approved projects are outlined in section 6 of the “Energy Innovation Program, Clean Energy Innovation Component: Request for Project Proposals, Applicants’ Guide”, which is made available to all applicants.

With respect to paragraphs (b), (c), and (d), as of April 4, 2017, NRCan had not yet formally announced any of the selected projects for the clean energy innovation program. However, 100% of the $25.1 million in funding available for this program has been allocated to projects selected through the call for proposals process. The current number of projects expected to be supported by the clean energy innovation program is approximately 27, although this figure could change slightly in the future. All applicants have been notified, and NRCan has started conducting post-selection due diligence and negotiating contribution agreements with applicants. It is expected that the majority of the 27 contribution agreements will be signed by June 30, 2017. Once contribution agreements are signed, NRCan will announce the projects. NRCan will also disclose the contribution amounts through the formal, quarterly proactive disclosure process. This information will be available on NRCan’s website.

[Natural Resources, May 18th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the expert panel of five individuals, including one from Alberta, have spent months consulting Canadians on what a world-class regulator would look like.

There are 26 recommendations. The Government of Canada will now carefully assess these recommendations. As I said a moment ago, Alberta has been a leader in the energy sector for Canada for decades, and I see that it will not only maintain the status quo but it will grow.

We have confidence in the energy environment in Alberta.

[Natural Resources, May 18th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, just last week I had the pleasure of visiting Calgary to announce multi-million-dollar investments with the Government of Alberta and the private sector, which was way beyond the kind of investments that we saw in Alberta.

That is the confidence we have in Alberta. We know that Alberta is the centre of the energy industry in Canada. It has been that way for a long time. I am sure it will be that way for decades in the future.

[Natural Resources, May 18th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the approval of the Trans Mountain expansion project is only one of many decisions that the government has taken to acknowledge the leadership of the Province of Alberta in the energy sphere and the number of jobs that will be created by it.

Even just today, the Premier of Alberta announced $225 million in loans for the rehabilitation of abandoned oil wells, because of a $30 million grant from the Government of Canada. Again, we acknowledge the importance of the Alberta energy industry, even if members opposite cannot seem—

[Natural Resources, May 18th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, we approved the pipeline. This is a federally approved pipeline that went through the most rigorous of all possible assessments.

The approval of the National Energy Board and then the subsequent approval of the Government of Canada comes with 157 conditions. I should also say for members opposite that these decisions were made on time, loyal to what the Government of Canada had said to the people of Canada.

[Questions on the Order Paper, May 18th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, Natural Resources Canada is not the federal lead on carbon pricing, but works in close collaboration with federal partners and provincial colleagues to assess the impacts of carbon pricing and to explore measures to minimize the potential impacts on Canada’s trade-exposed sectors.

Natural Resources Canada, with its federal and provincial partners on the working group on carbon pricing mechanisms, reviewed the potential impacts of various carbon pricing scenarios. These impacts will be dependent on the design of each provincial system and how that province chooses to reinvest any revenue that it generates. Carbon pricing is widely accepted as the most efficient measure to achieve emission reductions. Further analysis on the economic impacts of carbon pricing will become available as each province and territory clarifies the precise design of its carbon pricing systems.

[Natural Resources, May 17th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the member knows that when we took office, there were a number of major infrastructure projects under review. We established a set of principles that would govern how they would be reviewed, and one of the important ones was that no proponent would be asked to go back to square one, which I am sure members of the House would agree is fair.

We knew and announced at the time that this would be an interim step leading to a longer term reform of environmental assessment in Canada, a reform and a process that is now well under way.

[Natural Resources, May 17th, 2017]

—at the same time.

[Natural Resources, May 17th, 2017]

—the pipeline expansion, and that will create 15,000 jobs, mostly for Albertans but also for British Columbians. We believe it is part of the important strategy of creating jobs while respecting the environment—