House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 51% of the vote.
Business of Supply May 31st, 2010
Madam Chair, by the time the National Energy Board becomes involved in regulating the offshore in the Arctic, companies have already signed the contracts obligating them to spend money. Does this not restrict the NEB's ability to ensure the safety of our coast?
Business of Supply May 31st, 2010
Madam Chair, it is strange to hear the members from Alberta cheering about the export of jobs from their own province.
Does the minister believe that the plan for supertankers filled with raw bitumen sailing through the tanker exclusion zone in fact breaks the tanker exclusion zone?
Business of Supply May 31st, 2010
Madam Chair, does the government have any policy on the exporting of raw bitumen from the tar sands to be processed in other countries?
Business of Supply May 31st, 2010
Madam Chair, does the current government have any position on increasing the export of raw bitumen from the tar sands and the export of the process and jobs connected with it?
Business of Supply May 31st, 2010
Madam Chair, it is quite okay if the minister does not simply know the answer, rather than repeating general considerations of the NEB.
The government has appointed 10 of the 12 members to the NEB. The majority of members now sitting on the NEB have deep, long, close and personal ties to the oil and gas industry. Some 90% of the funding for the commission comes from the oil and gas industry. No one is casting aspersions. We simply wish the minister to actually know this file.
Could the minister answer as to how many of the NEB staff spend at least 75% or more of their time on environmental protection?
Business of Supply May 31st, 2010
Madam Chair, how many members of the NEB has the current government appointed?
Business of Supply May 31st, 2010
Madam Chair, I am concerned by the minister's unwillingness or lack of knowledge on this file. He asked me to refer to the Minister of the Environment. The Minister of the Environment has no purview over this whatsoever. It is under his watch and the Minister of Indian Affairs. That is it.
The requirement by the NEB to have these so-called stringent rules that the minister spoke of, in 2005, NEB Chair Caron said “to contribute to an innovation and economic growth and to reduce the administrative burden on business”.
At the Nova Scotia level, the chair there said:
And we are considering allowing new technology [to reduce costs] for exploration. This might require regulatory changes. We’re looking into that now. Flexible. Flexible. Flexible.
Does the minister feel that the NEB is in any conflict of interest whatsoever?
Business of Supply May 31st, 2010
Madam Chair, when contracts are signed for leases in Canada, the oil companies must commit to explore and spend money. Is there an environmental assessment required at this stage by Canada?
Business of Supply May 31st, 2010
Madam Chair, I just want it to be clear for those watching. In the U.S., there is a regulatory requirement that companies have the fiscal capacity, the money on hand, to drill a relief well. In Canada there is no such requirement.
Second, the minister seems to have an unending faith in the oil and gas companies to regulate themselves. In the U.S., when a lease is taken out, as in the case of the Beaufort, on both sides of the border, an environmental assessment is required. Is this the case in Canada? Is an environmental assessment required at the leasing stage in offshore drilling in the Arctic?
Business of Supply May 31st, 2010
Madam Chair, I have a very specific question for the minister.
In the U.S., there is a regulatory requirement that companies prove they have the fiscal capacity to drill a relief well in the case of a blowout. Is that the case in Canada?