44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 25, 2022 11:00AM
- Apr/25/22 1:56:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I was fascinated when my hon. colleague talked about the Liberals' economic vision. One part was exporting fossil fuels internationally, which is very much in line with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers aim to vastly expand exports. My concern is that I do not know if my hon. colleague has actually read the IPCC report that says we have less than five years before we face catastrophe. The fact that the government wants to increase oil exports is very concerning. I would also ask if he has looked at the Canada Energy Regulator, which has looked at the Liberal plan. It said that in 2050, the amount of oil being produced, according to the plans from the Liberals, is going to be the same as it was in 2019. They are burning the future of the planet.
The member can talk about economic development all he wants, but until he gets serious about serious reductions, we are selling out the future of our children.
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- Apr/25/22 4:56:56 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we have talked a lot in the House about supporting the people of Ukraine and the need to increase investments in our military. One of the critical things that I think we can do to stand with our partners and allies around the world is to supply them with a surer, clearer supply of Canadian energy resources to displace dependence on Russian oil and gas. We can play that role in Canada. About 75% of Russian gas exports go to Europe, and there is not going to be any way of delivering serious, intense economic sanctions against the Russian regime unless and until we are willing to seriously engage with the energy security issue.
I wonder if, as part of the budget, the Bloc has thoughts on what we need to be doing to displace Europe's dependence on Russian oil and gas.
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- Apr/25/22 4:57:49 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think the member knows my answer.
We clearly know that the solution for supporting European countries is not to develop new pipelines to supply Europe. The war would likely be over before the pipelines could even be built. That is not a solution.
Investing in carbon capture and storage is not a solution either. We really need to move into energy transition mode. We need to support the people of Saskatchewan so they can shift gears and develop an alternative, diversified economy that is not based solely on oil.
I invite my colleague to listen up and make way for the energy and ecological transition.
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- Apr/25/22 5:25:03 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, at the end of his speech, my colleague talked about the importance of breathing clean air and how important that is to our health.
Let me make another connection. The Government of Canada provides the most subsidies for fossil fuel, including oil and gas extraction, which generates huge amounts of air pollution, which in turn results in high rates of heart, lung and kidney problems and other health issues.
Does my colleague not think that human health should come before the oil and gas industry?
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- Apr/25/22 7:12:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in this place to pursue, in Adjournment Proceedings, a question that I originally asked not that long ago, actually, on March 24. My question related to something we have debated in the House quite a lot, mostly on supply day motions of opposition parties. It is the notion that somehow Canada can step up and do more for Ukraine by producing more fossil fuels and exporting them. There are many fallacies in that proposition.
At the time, I directed my question to anyone on the government benches, but it was the hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources who responded. I said the notion that we needed more pipelines was quite misguided and there was not any evidence for it, and when I posed my question, I noted that the International Energy Agency, which is an unquestioned expert on supply, price and sustainability of energy supplies, put forward a recommendation to reduce the use of oil daily by 2.7 million barrels. That 2.7 million barrels of oil a day could reduce the demand within the European Union. There are other quite simple things too. I mentioned some of them in the 10-point plan and asked if Canada would consider joining the European Union in implementing this 10-point plan.
The hon. parliamentary secretary, who happens to be the member for Toronto—Danforth, as there are a couple of parliamentary secretaries to the Minister of Environment, was very positive in her response and said they are considering it, but did not actually suggest what we might do. That is why I wanted to pursue this in Adjournment Proceedings.
The world has paid a lot of attention to many things that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said since his country has been so cruelly and viciously attacked by Russia, but it has not paid a lot of attention to the things that President Zelenskyy has said about the climate crisis and his commitment to climate action. In other words, whenever we hear someone in Canada say that we need more pipelines, we need to produce more oil, we need to produce more gas and this is how we help Ukraine, that is not something the President of Ukraine, the extraordinarily courageous leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has said.
In fact, on March 29, after the war had been raging for a month at that point and just as he came to us on Zoom and addressed this Parliament, President Zelenskyy addressed the Parliament of Denmark. These are statements that I think would be worth having on the record for people to consider in the Canadian Parliament. President Zelenskyy, in addressing the Danish Parliament, said, “Russian aggression against Ukraine and against everything on which life in Europe is built is an argument for accelerating the green transformation on the continent.” He went on to say, “long before this war, it was obvious that humanity should reduce the use of fossil fuels. The era of coal and oil has caused very serious damage to...our planet as a whole. Green technologies, green energy have become a logical and fair response to this challenge.”
If the European Union understands what needs to be done, the International Energy Agency understands what needs to be done, the Government of Ukraine understands what needs to be done and the Government of Germany understands, why is it that Canada is failing to understand that in the context of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the best way we can support Ukraine and President Zelenskyy is to go off fossil fuels as quickly as possible? It would mean no more Russian oil and no more oil.
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- Apr/25/22 7:26:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think it is fair to say that there is no better supplier of responsibly produced oil and gas than Canada during this transition to a net-zero future. Why is that? It is simply because we have one of the strongest and most comprehensive climate plans in the world, a plan that is leading the way for the oil-producing nations around the world and certainly right here in Canada. Our plan is bold and is working, and it is in partnership with the industry, as the member knows. In fact, it is industry partners that have talked about placing a cap on emissions in the oil and gas sector, and as a government we have agreed and are working with them to look at those outcomes.
Companies representing a full 90% of Canada's oil sands production have committed to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. It is our job to work with the industry to get there, but it is also our job to help diversify our dependency on the oil and gas industry and look at different options that are more respectful of the climate and of the place we are developing and shaping together.
The member talked about our relationship with the United States. The fact is that there are no two countries in this world that share a highly integrated energy and economic relationship that is stronger than the one we have with the United States. We have more than 70 pipelines and nearly three dozen transmission lines that cross the borders between our two countries. That network helps make America our largest energy customer, with $100 billion in energy trade each year. There are always going to be projects that we may not agree on, and there are going to be moments when we will disagree in any relationship. However, at the end of the day, never undervalue the relationship we share as a country with the United States when it comes to the energy sector.
In saying all this, I also want to point out to the member that any transition we do in oil and gas in this country will include the protection of jobs and the protection of communities. We can transition to a safe and sustainable future for our children and as a country, and we can do so as a world leader. We can also do so while protecting the people who depend on those jobs, ensuring that they have skills and have a strong future in the country.
In terms of the affordability of gas, we all share that concern. I share it in my own riding and right across the north, an area that I represent in the House. It is a huge concern. However, the member knows that we are coming off a COVID crisis and we are in the middle of a Russian-Ukrainian war. The nature of the world has changed. It is the global picture and global impacts that are shaping the price of fuel at the pumps today, not anything that is directly happening in our Parliament.
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