Paul Lefebvre

[Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020, January 25th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Thérèse‑De Blainville for her speech.

She spoke about health transfers. The federal government has transferred more than $20 billion during the pandemic. That is more than the existing transfers planned between the provinces and the federal government. Of course, the additional transfers need to be financed.

My question is very simple. How should the federal government finance this extra spending? Obviously, there are only a few ways to do that: either increase Canada's annual debt, raise taxes or cut programs.

I would like to know what programs the hon. member would be prepared to cut.

[Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020, January 25th, 2021]

Happy new year, Madam Speaker. I am happy to be back in the House.

I want to thank my colleague from Carleton for his lesson on the economy and on debt financing. It is quite clear from the tenet of what he is proposing or certainly saying that the situation we are in is untenable. Certainly in all the investments we made in Canadians in the past year, there was a choice to be made. On this side of the House, we decided to invest in Canadians, and he is deriding us for accumulating debt.

I want the member for Carleton to comment on the fact that we have invested too much in Canadians. Why did we accumulate debt? It was to help Canadians weather this storm and weather the worst pandemic we have faced as a nation during our lifetimes.

The government has brought forward a lot of programs, including the CERB, the wage subsidy, the rent subsidy, the mortgage deferral payments, the support for indigenous communities, the CEBA loans, the regional relief and recovery fund, and the billions of dollars of transfers provided to the provinces to ensure the health and safety of Canadians. Which program would he have not brought forward?

[Natural Resources, December 11th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, certainly we are committed to making sure that we have the cleanest oil in the world being produced in Canada and being supported from Canada. That is why we have supported the TMX pipeline. We have supported the workers who are creating that pipeline, as well as Line 3, Line 5 and LNG. We are supporting western Canada, western jobs, and are continuing to make sure we have the highest standards so that when we export, we make sure we have the highest standards in the world.

[Employment, December 11th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, we approved TMX, with 7,000 jobs created so far. We approved the Line 3 pipeline, with 7,000 jobs created. We are supporting Keystone XL on the Canadian side, with 1,500 jobs created. We approved NGTL 2021, with thousands of jobs to be created. With respect to LNG Canada, there are thousands of jobs there. We have invested $1.7 billion in orphaned and inactive wells, with thousands of jobs created in Alberta and Saskatchewan. With the wage subsidy, more than 500,000 workers kept their jobs during the pandemic in Alberta alone.

That is our record. We will keep working to make sure people are working in western Canada.

[Natural Resources, December 9th, 2020]

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

There is certainly a meeting of the minds here. Basically, our government supports Keystone XL, and we will continue our unwavering support.

This project has received all the major approvals in Canada and the United States. It will be hugely beneficial economically and create thousands of jobs on both sides of the border. It will ensure North America's long-term energy security and contribute to the strongest energy relationship in the world.

We know that we need to have a balance between economic prosperity and the environment as we transition into a low-carbon economy. It is important that we continue down this path. We will continue to defend this project in Canada and in the United States.

[Natural Resources, December 9th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, as I said in my previous remarks, our government has always supported Keystone XL because we know that this project will increase our access to markets in a safe, responsible and sustainable way. In fact, this project was discussed in the first phone call between the Prime Minister and U.S. President-elect Joe Biden.

Our government will continue to advocate for this project because we know that it has significant economic advantages, will create thousands of jobs in several states and will enhance North America's long-term energy security. It will also contribute to the strongest energy relationship in the world. We know that we can strike a balance between economic prosperity and the environment in the transition to a low-carbon future.

We understand the importance of striking this balance, so much so that we recently introduced in Parliament a Canadian net-zero emissions accountability bill. We know that our government's efforts to fight climate change, put a price on pollution and make investments that help our energy sector become more sustainable only strengthen the arguments in support of this bill.

Of the major suppliers of oil to the United States, Canada is one of the few with a price on carbon and a goal to achieve net zero by 2050. Our government has also strengthened its approach to meaningful consultation and acknowledging the importance of partnerships in natural resource projects in Canada.

Rightly, Canada has moved away from developing solutions for indigenous communities to collaborating and partnering with them, because we understand that working with indigenous peoples to find solutions will lead to better economic, social and environmental outcomes.

Our government's track record of doing the hard work necessary to ensure that major projects go forward the right way every step of the way is clear. Just look at the Trans Mountain expansion project. When the project was in jeopardy, we stepped up and did what was necessary to ensure construction. Construction is now well underway with approximately 4,900 jobs, and they are working on terminals, pump stations and installing pipe from Edmonton to Burnaby. That is nearly 5,000 jobs and more are to come. We are also continuing to engage with indigenous groups on the project, including exploring opportunities for economic participation and on the implementation of measures to address impacts on rights and other concerns.

Our government believes in a competitive and sustainable natural resource sector, and that good projects must go ahead with the full confidence of Canadians. Keystone XL is no different. To this point, the project has received all major approvals in both Canada and the United States. Projects like Keystone XL are necessary to ensure North American energy security during a highly uncertain time for global energy markets. Our government's efforts and support for this project has been and will continue to be unwavering.

As I mentioned at the beginning of my remarks, the Prime Minister raised the importance of this project with the president-elect at his first opportunity. That shows how much of a priority this is for our government. We look forward to construction moving forward, and we will continue to advocate for this project with President-elect Biden at every opportunity.

[The Environment, December 9th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I want to stress how important it is to our government to balance protecting the environment with creating jobs, including well-paying unionized jobs in natural resources and in construction.

We are looking for a balance as we continue to support and diversify Canada's energy sector and work towards achieving net-zero emissions. We know that this not only can be done, but must be done. Our government will always do what is necessary to achieve this goal, since that is what all Canadians, including future generations, deserve.

[The Environment, December 9th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, our government is guided by one principle as we work towards meeting our Paris targets. We want to exceed our 2030 objective and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. We recognize that this will take real, meaningful action.

That is why our government recently introduced the Canadian net-zero emissions accountability act in Parliament. This bill would establish a legally binding process for the government in order to achieve our net-zero objective based on the best science available.

More than 120 countries, 1,000 companies, 2,000 chambers of commerce, 452 cities and some of the biggest investors in the world have joined Canada in this commitment.

However, we also recognize that reaching success will require investment and innovation throughout Canada's energy sector. We must do this to ensure we continue to create jobs for Canadians while moving forward on the path to a low-carbon future. Our government's supports for projects like Keystone XL, TMX and LNG Canada are part of that recognition. Canadian oil and gas is some of the most responsibly and sustainably produced in the world. This sector is Canada's largest investor by far in the clean-tech innovations that we need to reach our goals. Our government will continue to diversify our future energy mix while also generating economic benefits on our path to net zero.

To that end, the Minister of Natural Resources will soon launch Canada's hydrogen strategy. The initiative, after broad consultations, will allow us to fully seize the opportunity hydrogen represents and build back better from the COVID-19 pandemic. Canada is already recognized as a global leader in the hydrogen fuel cell sector. We are also a hub for technical expertise and intellectual property. We produce leading products and services that are exported around the world. More than that, clean hydrogen has the potential to sharply reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. The strategy will strengthen our economic competitiveness through export potential, attract investment and create good sustainable jobs across the country. It could also drive down emissions in sectors like resource extraction and processing, freight transportation, power generation and manufacturing, as well as in the production of steel and cement where electrification may not be the best choice. It will take investment and support across the Canadian energy spectrum to meet our climate change commitments while also creating jobs and driving investment.

This is a critical moment. Tackling climate change is the challenge of our generation. To ensure a healthy future for the next generation we will need innovation, we will need collaboration, we will need all types of emerging technologies to get us to net zero by 2050. Our government remains committed to doing just that.

[Natural Resources, December 4th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, we approved the Line 3 pipeline, with 7,000 jobs created. For Keystone XL, our support is unwavering, with 1,500 jobs created. We are building LNG Canada, with thousands of jobs. We got TMX approved and it is getting built, with more than 7,000 jobs created so far. We approved NGTL 2021, with thousands of jobs to be created. For orphan and inactive wells, $1.7 billion was spent, with thousands of jobs created. Under the wage subsidy, more than 500,000 workers were kept in their jobs in a pandemic in Alberta alone.

That is our record.

[Employment, December 4th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to the workers at Evraz who are facing this very difficult moment. Our government has approved and supported the construction of major pipeline projects, including Line 3 replacement projects, TMX, KXL and NGTL 2021.

From the beginning of this crisis, we have taken actions to support workers. We invested $1.7 billion to create thousands of jobs through the remediation of inactive and abandoned wells and have been supporting the sector with a 75% wage subsidy that has kept millions of Canadians working. We will continue to support Canada's energy sector workers. Workers are at the heart of everything that we do.