Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, we live in a federation where provincial governments have strong points of view, and they are elected to speak on behalf of their own constituencies, the people who elected them, and their own interpretation of their provincial interests. There is only one government that speaks on behalf of the national interest, and that is the Government of Canada.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, let us examine the Conservative record on this file: in 10 years, not one kilometre of pipe built to tidewater, an erosion of public trust in the regulatory system that we are going to fix, insufficient consultation with indigenous communities, court case after court case that said they blew it.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, they are bashing in an open door. They cannot take yes for an answer. I guess we can say it one more time. We want the pipeline to proceed. We have approved it. We have approved it with conditions. We are investing a billion and a half dollars in the oceans protection plan.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, the British Columbia government says it is going to consult people. The Government of Canada has already consulted tens of thousands of people, and Canadians agree with us that this pipeline is in Canada's interest because of the jobs it creates, because of the expansion of export markets, and because of the $1.5 billion invested in a world-class oceans protection plan.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, we do not have any difficulty repeating the government's position, and I do not know why members opposite cannot take yes for an answer. Yes, we think the pipeline is a good idea. Yes, we approved the pipeline. Yes, we intervened at the National Energy Board when it wanted to delay the pipeline.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, I do not know why the hon. member will not take yes for an answer. As we have been telling him throughout the last number of minutes, the last number of days, and the last number of months, we want this pipeline built. We want it built because it creates jobs; it expands exports markets; it invests $1.5 billion in an ocean protection plan, the best there is in the world; all while we are consulting with indigenous communities.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has said unequivocally many times that this pipeline will be built, and that no province has the authority to impinge on federal jurisdiction in the national interest. There is only one government in Canada that speaks on behalf of Canada, and that is the Government of Canada, which it has done and will continue to do.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows that the Government of Canada has already intervened in a motion in front of the National Energy Board and agreed with Kinder Morgan that there ought to be at standing panel established to ensure there are no unnecessary delays in a project that, and I know the opposition agrees with us, is in the national interest.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, the government has no interest in inflaming emotions between regions of our countries, between sectors, or from one province to another. The job of the Government of Canada is to speak on behalf of all Canadians. If the member opposite and members of the Conservative Party expect that we are going to play a game of trying to enrage and inflame regional tensions, we will not do it.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, was the town hall in Edmonton in the dark? I think there were cameras there. There were microphones there. People were taking pictures of it. They were recording what the Prime Minister said, which was that this pipeline will be built. This has been unequivocal. We have intervened at the National Energy Board when there have been attempts made to slow the process down.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, why does the hon. member refuse to hear what the Prime Minister has said over and over again. He has said, and we have said, continuously, that we will not allow any province to impinge on the federal government's jurisdiction over the national interest. It is not profitable for us to deal in hypotheticals of what a government might do.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, the government approved the Trans Mountain expansion pipeline because it was in the natural interest; because of the many thousands of jobs that would be created; because of the expansion of export markets so we would not have to rely on 99% of those exports going to one country, the United States; because of the $1.5 billion we invested in the ocean protection plan, which is world-leading; and because of the consultation with indigenous communities, which are the three pillars of responsible development.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, is the member suggesting that we draw not another single barrel of oil? Is that a responsible position for any member of the Canadian Parliament to take? I do not think so. That is certainly not what we are hearing from Canadians. If he is suggesting that there be a responsible approach, the Alberta 100 megatonne cap is sensible and within that cap, resource projects will be approved and developed.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I am glad to respond to that. I am both confused and disappointed as to why the hon. member continues to bring that up since I have apologized and said I had misspoken. Within a few days of having said it, I realized it would invoke images that were not healthy to the debate, and I apologized to indigenous leaders.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I would like to remind everyone that it was the entrepreneurship and the power of innovation in Alberta that led to unlocking this great resource in the first place. Literally trillions of dollars of investment internationally are looking for a place to land and we want that investment to land in Canada.