There was no reduction in 1987. There was no production in 1987. Get a grip. You're having a brain cramp.
House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 57% of the vote.
Supply November 4th, 2004
There was no reduction in 1987. There was no production in 1987. Get a grip. You're having a brain cramp.
Supply November 4th, 2004
What revenues were coming from oil and gas in 1984? You don't know what you're talking about.
Supply November 4th, 2004
There were no rigs in 1984. They weren't drilling in 1984.
Supply November 4th, 2004
Madam Speaker, clearly the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador provided this technical detail in his discussions with the Prime Minister. Those discussions took place at that high level four months ago. The problem now is that the Prime Minister is backing away from that commitment.
This debate is not about providing further clarity. This is about shedding light on what the Prime Minister has already committed to. This is about ensuring that the Prime Minister keeps that commitment.
We, very clearly, in our words and actions, support the region and the premiers who are simply looking for the Prime Minister to now deliver on that commitment. This would allow us to get away from scenarios that we see in a province such as Nova Scotia where 43% of the revenues generated in that province go to a single issue, health care.
How are we supposed to deal with infrastructure, education and other important matters if we cannot generate some revenue independent of this sad scenario where we find ourselves now able to generate revenue but have 81¢ on every dollar generated in that province clawed back by the federal government?
It is a clear issue. The technical detail exists. The Prime Minister promised that 100% of those royalties would go to the province of Nova Scotia and to the province Newfoundland and Labrador. The simple solution is for the Prime Minister to keep his word.
Supply November 4th, 2004
Madam Speaker, I am not sure where the hon. minister is going with this issue. The only number that matters, the only component of the offer from the Prime Minister, is 100%, and 100% means 100%, 100% of the time. That is it.
Supply November 4th, 2004
Madam Speaker, I am very honoured as a Nova Scotian and as a member of the Conservative Party to take part in what I believe is a critically important debate for the future of our province, for the future of Atlantic Canada and in fact for the best economic future of the country, because it is in everyone's interest, the interest of our entire country, to have the improvements to the economies of Atlantic Canada that we see happening elsewhere in this country.
I want to begin my remarks by congratulating the Leader of the Opposition for the passionate and poignant case he has made before Canadians today in defence of Atlantic Canada. As he has done on numerous occasions since the House has resumed, whether it be on BSE or on trade issues, issues that affect the lives of Canadians, he has put forward in a very articulate and straightforward way what should happen. That is the type of national leadership we need in this country and I applaud his actions on this file.
There has been a lot of discussion, even early in this debate, about the numbers and how equalization factors into the formula when it comes to the provision of the royalties scheme and the flow that we would see in Atlantic Canada from our own natural resources, mainly oil and gas.
A number of accords and agreements are in place already, signed by previous governments, as alluded to by the Leader of the Opposition, going back to the 1980s when there was a recognition by a Liberal government at that time and subsequently by Brian Mulroney's government that Atlantic Canada and Nova Scotia and Newfoundland in particular were entitled to the same treatment and the same benefits that they would receive from their natural resources as other provinces were, such as Alberta.
There was also a recognition that when an industry is started there is a lag time before those benefits actually begin, as in the province of Alberta, which was permitted to continue to receive equalization. And equalization is just that: it is meant to equalize opportunities, both financial and otherwise, for citizens of that region.
Alberta was permitted to have that industry kick start, to have that exploration that has to take place, the difference being--and I want to highlight this issue--that underground technology, the ability to extract oil from under the ground, is not nearly as expensive as it is to go down hundreds of fathoms in the ocean and extract it from the ocean floor. So there is a parallel here, an important issue, and that is the ability for Nova Scotia and Newfoundland to have that exploration and continue to receive the support of a revenue stream that will allow them to truly develop in the area of offshore oil and gas technology. It costs up to $100 million in some cases to drill a single well on the ocean floor. Equalization is about giving our region the ability to reach our potential and our future growth.
What we have in this instance is the Prime Minister making a desperate attempt to ameliorate things with voters in that region of the country by promising something that he now is reneging on, by promising something that was meant to simply buy votes from Atlantic Canadians. Now, in the stark light of day, faced with the reality that he has to keep his promise, he is pulling back. He is putting qualifications in place. He is indicating to Atlantic Canada, “On second thought, I don't think we can do just that”.
That is not good enough. That is not the type of deal that can be struck when it comes to the important matter of Atlantic Canada's future.
We in the Conservative Party have been putting forward this issue since the House resumed for this simple reason: we understand fully that Atlantic Canada wants to be a full participant in Confederation. We no longer want to have the status of have not. We no longer want to carry the stigma that our people are not able to attain the same level of success that people in this country in other regions have attained.
This issue is of historic proportions for Atlantic Canada. In the past, we have seen attempts made to put forward what I would describe as “election amnesia”. That is what the government seems to be suffering from today. It is not cognizant of the fact that it is on the record. It has been recorded as to what it put forward to Atlantic Canada. And the only number that counts--not the percentages, not the equalization formula, not the type of rhetoric we are hearing already from the government side--is 100%. One hundred per cent of our revenue.
The Minister of Fisheries, who is from the province of Nova Scotia, said back in September of this year:
The idea of the offshore accord...that we're looking forward to is one that allows each of the provinces to keep 100 per cent of their offshore oil and gas royalties.
This echoes the same words of the Prime Minister.
As well, he went on to say:
I've heard talk of working toward a deal in Newfoundland by the end of the summer, and that sounds like a good time frame for me...
That came from the federal minister of fisheries, who is from Nova Scotia.
Summer has come and gone and now we are faced with a situation where we are seeing the same type of provision, the clawback which is currently in place and takes 81¢ of every dollar generated from our offshore. In the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, it is more. This results in billions of dollars coming to Ottawa that potentially would go into those regions, coming to Ottawa as opposed to the region that would build for the future and build the economic prosperity of that region. That is the dollar amount which will affect our provinces.
This type of folly, an election fortune that was so important to the Prime Minister, now appears to be falling away because people are realizing that without that true commitment, without the follow-through from the Prime Minister, we will not be able to enjoy that potential.
Therefore, Premier John Hamm of Nova Scotia and Premier Williams are very, very serious about holding the Prime Minister to his very, very serious commitment. That is what we in the official opposition want to see as well. These premiers understand, as does the leader of the opposition, that this issue is principally an issue of people. It would allow people to stay in the region in which they currently live to enjoy the future spinoffs that would come from this industry.
I want to refer to a study put forward by the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord. This study speaks very much to the impact that this would have on a province like Nova Scotia. In 2002, the Greater Halifax Partnership released this study by the Conference Board of Canada on the economic impact this would have on the province. The study predicts a steady rise of employment in Nova Scotia, with the creation of 57,000 additional jobs by the year 2020.
The study goes on to see the growth in the construction, manufacturing, utilities and services sectors. As for rural Nova Scotia, we know there is an increasing divide between rural and urban Canada, but the impact of this would be in the construction and manufacturing sectors while growth in the retail and services sector would be almost as pronounced as we see in our capital, Halifax. The study predicts a gain of $1 billion by 2020 in the construction industry alone.
That is the type of impact this would have. It would allow young people, our best natural resource, to stay at home, our young, educated, motivated Canadians who now have to leave their homes and go elsewhere, sadly, and sometimes out of Canada, to find employment, to find their future. For example, the Leader of the Opposition's roots go back to Atlantic Canada; his family, like many others, left that region to seek a future elsewhere. What Atlantic Canadians want is the ability to stay at home, to contribute to the growth of their own region, which they know and love, with the passion that they feel for their home, for their ground where they grew up.
That is very much tied to the ability of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador and in fact all the provinces to benefit from their own natural resource, a non-renewable natural resource as has been pointed out. There is a finite time in which we can truly enjoy the benefits of this. To suggest that we should accept anything less, that we should now accept this qualified clawback of the Prime Minister's commitment, is ludicrous.
Premiers Williams and Hamm will continue to insist that the Prime Minister do what is right, what is fair, what is equitable and what is in the interests of all Canadians: to keep his word and allow the provinces of Nova and Newfoundland and Labrador to attain the same level of economic future and the same type of prosperity that exist elsewhere in this great country of ours.
We will continue on behalf of the official opposition to make that case passionately, with a great deal of support coming from all Canadians. I think that is a concept implicit in this debate. It is one of fairness. It is one that all Canadians respect and understand.
Points of Order November 4th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, as I did instantly, I unreservedly withdraw the remark as I did previously.
Natural Resources November 3rd, 2004
Mr. Speaker, clearly that is not the commitment the Prime Minister gave Premier Williams and Premier Hamm.
The Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador has said that he will take it on the road if the Prime Minister does not fulfill that commitment. The premier is prepared to tell ordinary Canadians first-hand what will happen to them if they take the Prime Minister at his word.
Could the Prime Minister explain why it would be necessary for a premier in this country to embark on a cross-country campaign just to get the Prime Minister to keep his word?
Natural Resources November 3rd, 2004
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister should address that lecture to his own caucus, not to the official opposition.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister said that he was prepared to live up to his agreement, the undertaking that he gave to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, yet Nova Scotia officials tell us that the Prime Minister must give clear direction to his officials in order to get on with this deal, that is 100% of the royalties, 100% of the time.
The premiers are in sync. When will the Prime Minister provide that clear direction to his officials to live up to and fulfill that promise he gave to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland?
Natural Resources November 2nd, 2004
Mr. Speaker, the list of those individuals supporting the premier, Danny Williams, grows on a daily basis. The Leader of the Opposition has supported the position. The Liberal MPs and senators have supported the position. Now even the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador has announced that it is solidly behind Premier Williams.
It is time for some leadership from the Prime Minister himself on this. Atlantic Canada's potential future is hanging in the balance. We know that Premier Williams and Premier Hamm continue to talk. They want a three-way dialogue. Will the Prime Minister make it unanimous? Will he invite the premiers of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland--