Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2  Mr. Speaker, I greatly appreciate that question from the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands. Both of us spoke very passionately in the recent emergency debate on the intergovernmental report on climate change. I always see the value in putting targets and benchmarks into policy and legislation, because it is an opportunity to be able to assess how a government has done.

Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2  Mr. Speaker, let us not forget that the NDP promised to balance the budget in 2015. The NDP wants the northern European lifestyle on the U.S. taxes, and it is just not going to happen. The reality of the situation is that programs take time to bring on and implement. I am extremely proud of this government's direction when it comes to pay equity.

Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2  Mr. Speaker, I will speak directly to that linkage between the Canadian and U.S. economies. Yes, our economies are linked together. We share an economic relationship with another country, probably unlike any other two countries do in the world, yet at the same time, we are able to advance our own objectives and our own policies that make good sense.

Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2  Mr. Speaker, it is an honour today to participate in this debate on the budget implementation act for another budget by this government, and another progressive opportunity to advance many of the important social initiatives we are seeking to undertake to grow this country and make Canada an even better place to live, invest and work, as we move further forward into the 21st century.

Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2  Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest to my colleague's intervention today. In reference to the Conservative Party, I heard him say that “What we advocate then is having a plant to control spending” and that the Conservatives would spend nothing beyond available revenues.

Canada's Oil and Gas Sector  Mr. Speaker, obviously the private sector builds pipelines, but the federal, local and provincial governments play a large part in determining the regulations behind that and how it is going to go forward. He talked about the success the Conservatives had in building pipelines. Yes, they had success in some areas, in areas that continued to deliver oil to the exact place we did not need to keep delivering it because we were already putting 99% of it there.

Canada's Oil and Gas Sector  Mr. Speaker, when we look at individual projects like the one the member is referring to and the decision by the court, the reality of the situation is that we respected the court's decision on it. The court said that we needed to go back and follow a process to ensure all parties were consulted, and that is exactly what we said we would do.

Canada's Oil and Gas Sector  Mr. Speaker, I did not say that this was entirely a Conservative problem, as the member said I did at the beginning of his comments. It is quite the opposite. What I said is that there is blame to go around. There was a process that was followed, which the court decided needed to be re-examined and more attention needed to be paid to one particular area.

Canada's Oil and Gas Sector  Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in the House tonight to speak on this very important issue. I want to thank my colleagues in the Conservative Party for initiating this discussion. A lot of people have been affected in Alberta by the downturn in oil prices. It is very important to remember that at the heart of this, people are suffering economically in ways that will affect all aspects of their lives.

Canada's Oil and Gas Sector  Mr. Speaker, I brought this up in a previous question and I think it bears repeating, because I would like to hear the answer from the member across the way. The reality of the situation is that Stephen Harper was horrible at building pipelines, not because he did not want to do it, but because at the same time he was touting that we were going to be the new energy sector that was going to be a new superpower, he was undercutting the process by continually attacking environmentalists, attacking the fight on climate change, and essentially in the process, putting a target on the back of the oil sector.

Canada's Oil and Gas Sector  Mr. Speaker, the issue we face right now is a matter of where we are able to sell our product. The reality of the situation is that in 2006, when Stephen Harper came into power, 99% of the oil in Canada was sold to the U.S. When he left in 2015, it was still 99% of the oil being sold to the U.S.

Canada's Oil and Gas Sector  Madam Speaker, given the intervention by the member from the NDP today, I am curious if he can speak to how important it is to diversify our markets so that we are not putting all of our eggs in one basket so to speak, but would have the opportunity to ensure there are other forces driving the economy in a particular region of the country, and how important that would be to the longevity and sustainability of economies in various different parts of the country.

Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2  Mr. Speaker, I have had the opportunity to listen to this debate go on and on about the Liberals' capacity to properly run the economy. However, when we actually look at the stats, there is nothing that could be argued away through circumstance. The reality of the situation is over the last 151 years, the Conservatives have been in power for 38% of the time and have racked up 73% of the national debt.

Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2  Mr. Speaker, my colleague spent a considerable amount of time talking about pay equity. One of the most important things we can do to achieve pay equity is to make sure that we do not put a burden on women who are raising children. We need to make sure that the right supports are there for child care in particular, as we have heard time and time again.

Postal Services Resumption and Continuation Act  Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Before introducing that, I took the opportunity to bring it up with the Speaker, who was in the chair before you. He consulted with the Clerk, and we were told that it was completely in order.