Kim Rudd

[The Environment, March 10th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to rise in the House again and talk about Canada having no stronger friend, partner, and ally than the United States. We share common values. We are pro jobs, pro business, and pro North America. That is why the Prime Minister and the minister are in Houston building those strong relationships with our North American partners.

We have taken a balanced approach to developing our energy resources by pricing carbon pollution and creating an oceans protection plan, all the while getting our resources to market and creating 25,000 good-paying middle-class jobs.

[Wine Industry, March 10th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I have visited the hon. member's lovely riding and have enjoyed some of the fine wines from British Columbia and wines from across the country.

The matter is under consideration by the minister. We will be happy to get back to the member very soon.

[The Environment, March 10th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has no stronger friend, partner, and ally than the United States. We share common values: we are pro-jobs, pro-business, and pro-North America. That is why the minister and Prime Minister are in Houston building relationships with our North American partners.

We will continue to work with our continental partners to build on our energy partnership, creating good-paying middle-class jobs and opportunities for years to come.

We have taken a smart, balanced approach to developing our energy resources by pricing carbon pollution and creating an ocean protections plan, all the while getting our resources to market, and creating more than 25,000 jobs.

[Team Eagle, March 10th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge a company in my riding at the epicentre of the rural renaissance that is going on in eastern Ontario. Team Eagle Ltd. is a global leader in the advancement of airfield innovations, from cutting-edge airfield operations software to anti-fire and de-icing equipment, to so much more in between. Team Eagle has also developed the world's largest snow remover for airports. It will revolutionize how airfield snow removal is done.

Team Eagle's new braking availability tester provides accurate information on runway surface conditions contaminated by ice, snow, or slush so that pilots can better calculate an aircraft's stopping capability on touchdown and avoid overruns that can be costly and sometimes fatal. This exciting innovation is being tested by Transport Canada. This is all being done in my riding of Northumberland—Peterborough South in a facility in a community of fewer than 4,000 people.

I look forward to sharing more eastern Ontario success stories in the near future.

[Business of Supply, February 16th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, as I have been listening to this debate, there are a couple of things that are frustrating me and many other people who are watching this.

In October, when the motion came forward to condemn all forms of Islamophobia, the members opposite voted for that. I have also heard that this is not about division on behalf of the members opposite. This is not about fundraising. This is not about appealing to a society that is eager to engage in some of the falsities that are happening on social media and in other media. However, it is not very difficult to find a Conservative leadership candidate whose website now reads that people can make a tax deductible donation to that campaign specifically using this issue. I personally find that offensive, and I would like a comment from the member.

[Natural Resources, February 10th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, as a government, we understand the challenges that workers and their families across the country in the energy sector have experienced over the past three years. We did in one year what the previous government could not do in a decade. We are protecting our oceans, we are pricing carbon pollution, all the while putting middle-class Canadians back to work.

We said that major pipelines could only get built if we had a price on carbon pollution and strong environmental protection in place. Our support for getting our resources to market reflects a balanced approach that ensures the environment is protected, a fair price for commodities is received, and creates good, well-paying jobs for Canadians.

[Job Losses in the Energy Sector, February 8th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I have stood in the House many times, as has the minister, and said it is the responsibility of government to help get our natural resources to market. We recognize that we need to reach international markets.

I want to talk about some of the comments around the northern gateway pipeline. Indeed, the court found that there was not enough consultation with indigenous peoples through that process and that, in fact, stopped that process. The timelines have been very clear in terms of the process with the energy east pipeline, the 21-month timetable. We have moved to make things as clear as possible, while ensuring that we are building the confidence of Canadians in a review process that, in a perfect world, would not end up in court challenges, would have the confidence of Canadians, and would get through the process faster.

[Job Losses in the Energy Sector, February 8th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to rise today to reaffirm our government's commitment to the oil and gas industry, a vital part of our Canadian economy.

All members of the House recognize that recent years have been difficult for Canada's oil and gas sector.

The sharp drop in oil prices has taken a heavy toll on the men and women, and their families, who depend on the industry for their livelihoods, not just in Alberta, as we have heard tonight, or Saskatchewan or Newfoundland and Labrador, but right across the country.

Every job lost in the oil patch ripples across the Canadian economy, whether it is a manufacturing company in Ontario, an engineering firm from Quebec, or an oil worker commuting from one of our coasts. All of us understand that, just as we understand that we cannot move global commodity prices with a snap of our fingers, no matter how much we want to.

However, we can strengthen Canada's social safety net to help affected workers by extending employment insurance benefits for those in the hardest hit regions and by introducing the new Canada child benefit that provides greater financial assistance to those who need it most. That is what we have done.

We are also making unprecedented investments in vital infrastructure, such as public transit, roads, bridges, and water treatment facilities, to get more Canadians working, building the foundation that will keep Canada's economy growing for generations to come. It is a balanced approach that ensures that Canada's energy sector remains a source of well-paying middle-class jobs.

We are striking a balance, approving the Trans Mountain expansion and Line 3 replacement projects and creating 22,000 construction jobs along the way. They were balanced decisions, and they were the right decisions.

The Prime Minister's mandate letter to the Minister of Natural Resources is very clear on this approach. I would like to read an excerpt from it:

It is a core responsibility of the federal government to help get our natural resources to market, but that is only possible if we achieve the required public trust

That has been our approach since we took office, rebuilding trust and restoring faith by strengthening our environmental assessments and regulatory reviews, by expanding public engagement and consultations with indigenous peoples, and by ensuring that local communities and indigenous peoples are true beneficiaries of resource development. I believe it is an approach that has come to define our government: promoting clean economic growth by getting our environmental house in order and rallying Canadians behind us.

Our efforts started as soon as we took office, when the Prime Minister went to Paris with our provincial and territorial colleagues, and Canada helped lead the way on the global agreement on climate change.

The Prime Minister met again with the provinces and territories last spring and fall to launch the pan-Canadian framework on clean growth and climate change. This framework has set us on a clear path toward ensuring that Canada is a global leader in the transition to a lower-carbon economy.

All of these measures are critical to the long-term future of Canada's energy sector, including the oil and gas industry. How? It will be by making the industry greener and more competitive for a world that increasingly values more sustainable practices. This was reflected in our government's first budget, which featured significant investments in clean technology and new innovation.

Let me just add that no one understands the need for clean technology and innovation better than Canada's oil and gas sector. That can-do spirit continues in the industry today through the Canada's Oil Sands Innovation Alliance. It is a formal partnership of 13 leading companies that have invested, to date, more than $1.3 billion to develop and share more than 935 distinct technologies and innovations.

However, none of us can do it alone. We cannot work in isolation from one another. That is why the Minister of Natural Resources has been engaging with people across this country, bringing together environmental leaders, energy companies, indigenous communities, and municipalities.

That is what our decisions on the TMX and Line 3 pipelines do, and that is what has been the goal of the initiatives I talked about today: Creating jobs and prosperity through a stronger, cleaner, and more sustainable energy sector, one built for today and tomorrow.

[Job Losses in the Energy Sector, February 8th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I was happy to share my time with the member opposite from Foothills.

We keep hearing about the carbon tax, and the way it is being talked about, as an imposition and something new. I want to take members back to 2007, when Premier Ed Stelmach put in a carbon tax at $15 per tonne. This is not something new.

I will remind members, and I hope the member opposite will comment, the innovation that happened in the oil sector that we have been talking about tonight came about with a price on carbon. If we talk to those in the energy sector, they will tell us that they want a price on carbon, because it will innovate, and it will help them grow.

I wonder if the member opposite could respond to that.

[Job Losses in the Energy Sector, February 8th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I have a couple of questions I will try to roll into one. We talk about jobs and how important they are, about the stability of jobs, and about training for good-paying, middle-class jobs. As we have heard here tonight, our government approved three pipelines that created those jobs.

I do not think anyone would argue that innovation and the diversification of economies is important for any country, including Canada, and we are certainly working toward that. The oil sands, particularly, and the resource sector are leaders in that area.

Are you suggesting that the 25,000 jobs that will be available for Canadians are not jobs that are supported by the NDP?