Jim Carr

[Natural Resources, February 16th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, it was legislative changes made by the other government that led to cabinet being asked to make important decisions on great national projects. A political decision is a decision for which politicians are held accountable. We will be held accountable after a process that will have the confidence of the Canadian people and that will have a chance to play out in a reasonable way and a robust way.

When all of that is done, the government will take responsibility for the decision it takes.

[Natural Resources, February 1st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the delay under the former Conservative government was a permanent delay because there were no pipelines built between 2011 and October 19, 2015. The reason is because the process was not credible. These projects will not go forward unless it is credible.

We are doing what we think is responsible by talking to Canadians about the ways in which they will have more public confidence in a system that did not work under the former government.

[Natural Resources, February 1st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, 20% of the national economy is dependent on natural resources. This is the way it has been in Canada for a very long time, and it will continue to be.

It is the aim of this government, and I am sure every member of the House, to move our resources to market sustainably. We need a process to do it. We have announced that process. We have a better chance of achieving that common goal today than we did last week.

[Natural Resources, February 1st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we are determined to modernize the National Energy Board. We will be asking Canadians from coast to coast to offer constructive opinions about how that could best be done. Those Canadians include members opposite, who one would think would have more of an interest than anybody else in a credible regulatory process.

[Natural Resources, February 1st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, there is no one in the House who speaks more clearly, more loudly, more passionately for the people of Saint John than the member does. We hear it all the time. There is no political party in the House that has a monopoly on compassion.

I can assure the House and the member that there are members of this caucus who understand that the best way that we will deliver to market is—

[Natural Resources, February 1st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, there will be hope when Canadians are faced with a regulatory regime that has their confidence, and that will only be done if we meaningfully consult with indigenous communities, with industry, with environmental groups, and across regions of the country. With good process and good regulatory controls, we have a much better chance of being where all members of the House want to be: moving our resources to tidewater sustainably.

[Natural Resources, February 1st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad that the hon. member brought up the matter of trust. It was a lack of trust in the regulatory process under the Conservatives' regime that resulted in no pipelines built to tidewater from 2011. We have consulted widely across the country, across sectors, and across regions, and we believe that today we have a better chance of instilling confidence among Canadians than we had when they were running the show.

[Natural Resources, February 1st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, every member of the House knows that there are Canadians who are suffering from job losses because of low commodity prices. They are suffering in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador, and New Brunswick. We need to establish a credible process that will have the confidence of Canadians.

The previous government, from 2011, built no pipelines because the process was not credible. We are in a better position today than we were a week ago.

[Business of Supply, January 28th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I welcome my fellow Manitoban's contribution to the debate. I also respect the considerable experience he has in the sector and the way he has observed the energy sector grow in Canada over many years.

However, when we were in New Brunswick and had to be a part of a very serious announcement that affected hundreds of people because of the closure of a potash mine, these were not crocodile tears. No political party in this chamber has a monopoly on compassion. These were people who were suffering from commodity prices, and they were suffering through job losses. We take that seriously. Therefore, I want to assure the member that our interest in these people, and the consequences these job losses have on families, are real.

I would like to ask the member for his experience in helping us sort out the way forward in modernizing the National Energy Board. I would ask him sincerely for his best advice on how we can take advantage of the experience of the regulatory history in Canada to make the future better than it is now. Does he have one suggestion, or perhaps two, on how we could make the regulatory process in Canada more responsive to the Canadian people?

[The Environment, January 28th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday Canadians were offered a brand new image, and that was the image of the Minister of Environment and the Minister of Natural Resources standing next to each other talking about sustainably developing the energy sector and the Canadian economy. Since then, many Canadians have told us, including provincial leaders, industry leaders, environmentalists, and others, that this is the better approach and the only way in the long term to develop our resources.