Jonathan Wilkinson

[Natural Resources, February 24th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I will reiterate once again that this was a decision made by Teck Resources. I am sure it was a difficult one for Teck Resources.

One of the things that was highlighted in the letter that the Teck CEO sent was the fact that it is partisan bickering over addressing climate change that is the problem. We have an opposition that has no climate plan, and we have provinces that have not yet put into place a robust climate plan.

It is so important that we work together to ensure that we are growing a clean economy in the context of addressing climate change in a serious way. That is something the other side of the House has not yet learned.

[Natural Resources, February 24th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I will reiterate this was Teck Resources' decision. We respect its decision. I know that it was certainly not an easy one. The decision that was made by Teck Resources in the letter that was sent to me by the chief executive officer underlines the importance of both taking climate action and looking at responsible resource development.

Certainly, Teck Resources did an extremely good job in engaging with local first nations communities. We have representatives of the Mikisew Cree who are here with us today. It is a model for how those kinds of consultations can be done, going forward.

[Natural Resources, February 24th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the greatest threat for the economy going forward is having an official opposition that has no plan to address climate change.

At the end of the day, we need to ensure that we are moving forward in a manner that addresses the climate issue and is promoting clean growth. Canada needs to ensure that its brand of developing low-carbon products to the world and selling those throughout the world is something that fits within the context of where this is going in the context of fighting climate change.

That is something we are committed to doing. That is something we are working on now and we will continue to do so.

[Natural Resources, February 24th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, in his letter, the Teck CEO said that Canada should be “a global provider of sustainable, climate-smart resources to support the world’s transition to a low carbon future”. We agree.

We need to be taking strong action on climate change in order to promote clean economic growth. That is something that those on the other side of this House do not understand, but it is something that we need to be working on very actively in partnership with the provinces and territories, with indigenous communities, with municipalities and all Canadians.

[Natural Resources, February 24th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated previously, this was a decision taken by Teck Resources. We respect that decision. I am sure it was a difficult one.

I would also point out—

[Natural Resources, February 24th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, as I said before, this was Teck Resources' decision. We respect that decision.

The CEO of Teck Resources, in his letter to me, clearly stated something very important. He stated, “Global capital markets are changing and investors and customers are increasingly looking for jurisdictions to have a framework in place that reconciles resource development and climate change, in order to produce the cleanest possible products.”

We agree. We need to work, going forward, to ensure we have thoughtful and aggressive plans to address climate change and promote clean growth. In the modern world, the economy and the environment must go together.

[Natural Resources, February 24th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, as I said before, this was Teck Resources' decision and we respect that decision. I am sure it was a difficult one to make.

The Teck decision and the CEO's letter show the need for us to have a serious climate plan that cuts pollution, incentivizes innovation and ensures a healthy economy and investor confidence.

Our government has a serious plan that includes a price on pollution. We are moving to exceed the Paris targets. We will be working toward net zero by 2050. We need collaboration with the provinces to do that.

We will be moving forward, in collaboration with our provincial partners, to ensure that we have both climate action and clean growth.

[Natural Resources, February 24th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, this was Teck's decision. We respect its decision. I am sure it was a difficult one.

The decision made by Teck Resources and the letter that was sent to me by the Teck CEO demonstrates clearly the need for all levels of government to work together to deliver climate action and clean growth.

We need to take action to reduce pollution and in doing so, provide business certainty. In his letter, Mr. Lindsay said that we needed to move past jurisdictional and partisan fighting.

We have been and will continue to work with all orders of government to make progress on addressing climate change and moving forward with a clean economy.

[Natural Resources, February 24th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, Teck Resources made the decision on its own. I understand that it was probably a very tough decision to make.

This decision shows how vital it is for all levels of government to work together on climate action. We need to take steps to fight climate change, in order to reduce pollution and provide certainty to businesses.

We are working with all levels of government in Canada and with the resource sector to keep creating good jobs and to ensure clean, sustainable growth for all.

[Natural Resources, February 18th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the purpose of an environmental assessment is to go through the process and have the effects identified. The joint review panel found that there were significant negative adverse environmental impacts associated with the project. It now comes to cabinet to have a conversation about whether or not those effects can be justified under the circumstances.

There is a legislated timeline to make a decision by the end of February, and we will make a decision.