Jonathan Wilkinson

[Questions on the Order Paper, November 14th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada acknowledges the importance of, and the need for, a global clean energy transition. While this transformation will take time, the government is committed to the bold action required to decarbonize Canada’s energy and natural resources sectors while creating unprecedented economic opportunities and good jobs for Canadians in every region of the country.

This global shift to a low-carbon future can be accomplished without phasing out Canada’s oil and gas sector. The cause of climate change is not fossil fuels themselves but the carbon emissions associated with producing and burning them. Canada’s challenge is to aggressively reduce those emissions, because hydrocarbons will continue to have a role to play in a net-zero economy.

Canada’s oil and gas sector is part of this shift. For example, the Pathways Alliance, which is composed of companies accounting for more than 90% of the oil sands’ annual production, has committed to being net zero by 2050. The government is working with the industry to cap its emissions as outlined in Canada’s 2030 emissions reduction plan, which indicates that the government is developing measures to cap oil and gas sector emissions at current levels and ensure that the sector makes an ambitious and achievable contribution to the country’s 2030 climate goals while reducing emissions at a pace and scale needed to align with net-zero emissions by 2050.

In addition, the government is establishing joint partnerships with each province and territory, through regional energy and resource tables, to identify and accelerate opportunities to transform their traditional resource industries and advance emerging ones. Through these regional tables, the government will also engage with indigenous partners and enlist the expertise and input of union partners, municipalities, industry, workers, experts and civil society, to advance the top economic priorities by aligning resources, timelines and regulatory approaches.

Central to seizing this moment is ensuring that Canadians are at the centre of everything the government does to achieve a net-zero future. After all, there is no low-carbon economy without skilled and well-trained workers.

This people-centred approach goes to the heart of a just transition: an equitable, inclusive and sustainable transformation of every sector of the economy and every region of the country to make sure all Canadians have what they need to succeed in the rapid shift to a net-zero world.

This is why the government is committed to moving forward with comprehensive action, including sustainable jobs legislation, to support workers and communities as Canada transitions to a low-carbon economy.

The government has released a discussion paper and encouraged Canadians to provide their feedback. These public consultations were launched in July 2021 and included 17 three-hour virtual round table sessions with stakeholders from across the country, including labour organizations, industry, academia, non-governmental organizations, youth and experts in skills, training, and diversity and inclusion. While those consultations have concluded, the government is still compiling input from the provinces and territories and Indigenous partners.

Regarding part (a) of the question, the Just Transition inbox received approximately 30,000 email submissions as of September 27, 2022, of which approximately 29,000 originated from five letter-writing campaigns.

Regarding parts (b), (c), (d), (e) and (f), the purpose of these consultations was to gather feedback from Canadians on proposed elements of sustainable jobs legislation, including guiding principles and a proposed sustainable jobs advisory body. Submissions were received via email as opposed to a contact form and Canadians were not asked to provide any personal or professional details with their specific feedback.

Feedback from the written submissions was summarized and aggregated. Therefore, producing a comprehensive response is not possible in the time allotted and could lead to the disclosure of incomplete and misleading information.

[Taxation, November 1st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, certainly, affordability is extremely important. We have taken significant steps, including allocating a quarter of a billion dollars to replacing home heating oil with greener alternatives and doubling the GST credit. It is also the case, no matter how the Conservatives attempt to mislead, that eight out of 10 Canadian families get more money back in the rebate from the carbon tax than what they pay.

It also bears stating that Conservatives also misled Canadians during the recent general election, when they campaigned on putting in place a carbon tax. Given that position and the position they are taking today, each Conservative member in the chamber is, in fact, breaking a promise they made to the constituents who sent them here. How can Canadians believe—

[Natural Resources, November 1st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.

As I said yesterday when she asked this question, we have implemented a plan to fight climate change, a plan that may well be the most detailed one in the whole world. It is an aggressive plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and ensuring a clean and prosperous future for our children and grandchildren.

We want to work with our partners in the Bloc Québécois, the NDP and, of course, the Conservative Party.

[Natural Resources, November 1st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to phasing out public financing of the fossil fuel sector by the end of 2022. We will eliminate subsidies to the fossil fuel sector by the end of 2023. We must address climate change. We need to implement a plan to fight climate change while fostering economic prosperity. Of course, we are in this together.

[Oil and Gas Industry, October 31st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I would advise the hon. member to actually read the emissions reduction plan.

The government has invested over $110 billion in reducing emissions around this country and in making investments to actually grow a clean economy going forward. It is something we have to think about on both sides of the equation. We must reduce emissions, but we also have to think about creating jobs and economic opportunity for the future, and that is exactly what we are doing.

[Climate Change, October 31st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, we know that we need to address the issue of climate change. We need to be a leader in these circumstances. I want to say that there are not very many countries in the world that have a plan that is as detailed as Canada's. We also need a plan for a prosperous economy for the future of our children, and we will work to accomplish both of those goals at the same time.

[Climate Change, October 31st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the world does indeed have to deal with the challenge of climate change; we have to deal with it for our children and our grandchildren. Canada has implemented a plan to fight climate change, a plan that may well be the most detailed one in the world. Yes, we need a very strong economy, but we also have to deal with climate change, and that is what we are doing.

[Carbon Pricing, October 24th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said, it is very important to address the affordability concerns. That is exactly what we are doing.

We also have to take into account the future costs associated with not addressing the climate issue. These folks will not mention the term “climate change”. In fact, their leader did not mentioned it in six months of campaigning. At the end of the day, the costs associated with climate change and inaction on it will be $100 billion per year by 2050. That is an appalling thing to leave to our children. Let us ensure that we are working for today and working for tomorrow.

[Carbon Pricing, October 24th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I think we should deal in facts. Most of the G7 countries have higher inflation rates than Canada does, and that opposition supported almost all of the COVID supports they are speaking to.

As I said, more than 80% of Canadian families get more money back than they pay in the price on pollution. We are investing a quarter of a billion dollars to help families reduce their heating costs, through the implementation of things such as heat pumps, and address the climate crisis we face concurrently.

It is important to know that one has to have a plan, both for affordability and the economy, but one also needs a plan to fight climate change.

[Carbon Pricing, October 24th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, we certainly recognize that affordability is a very important issue for Canadians. It is why 80% of Canadian households get more back in a rebate on the price on pollution than they actually pay.

It is also why we are investing $250 million to help make home heating more affordable for families across the country, by helping them move to more affordable and greener home heating sources. We can fight climate change and address affordability.