44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 19, 2023 10:00AM
- Sep/19/23 1:13:16 p.m.
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Before we go to questions and comments, I would like to commend the member for talking about such a great cabinet from way back in 2003-04, when a young Chris d'Entremont was a member of cabinet.
Continuing with questions and comments, the hon. member for Kingston and the Islands has the floor.
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Mr. Speaker, I really enjoyed the history on previous Conservative governments. I think we would be hard pressed to find any member in the House who would not agree that Conservative governments of the past, the Progressive Conservatives, were actually the champions of the environment. I have even heard the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands say that from time to time.
The member unfortunately cannot see the link between the Conservatives of the past and the Conservatives of today because they are quite different. He talked at length about Brian Mulroney. I have a Brian Mulroney story myself. Not that long ago in the House, I spoke at great length about the great work that Brian Mulroney and Progressive Conservatives did, and then contrasted them to the Conservatives of today.
Much to my surprise, a portrait of Brian Mulroney arrived at my constituency office the next day, which was personally signed. It said, “Mark, keep making those speeches”, with two exclamation points, and it was signed by Brian Mulroney. I think it is very rich to try to suggest that the new, reformed party of today somehow has a link to the Brian Mulroney Conservatives of the past.
The premiers of both Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador support this piece of legislation. The member said he supports it in principle. Why would he not at least help get it to committee so a decision could then be made to try to form the bill into what he wants to see, as he does support it in principle?
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Mr. Speaker, going to committee may be a potential down the road, but as elected officials in the House, we have to do our due diligence.
We have watched this government impede growth in several sectors. We have seen several bills it has put forward that have really limited progress in the energy sector. We have watched this across all aspects of the energy sector. What I would say here today is that Conservatives are doing their due diligence, and that is the best thing we can do in the House.
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Mr. Speaker, this summer, I had the honour of being showcased in a Conservative ad campaign. I am happy to know that I was on TV across Canada. My agent will send them the bill. Given that I am a member of the Union des artistes, a bill will definitely be coming.
The problem is that what was stated in the ad was completely false. It said that the Bloc Québécois was in favour of the carbon tax. Obviously, we are for putting a price on pollution. I think that we all agree with that on this side of the House. That being said, the carbon tax does not apply in Quebec.
Has anyone told the Conservatives? The Premier of Quebec told them. The leader of the Bloc Québécois told them. Every member of the Bloc Québécois has been telling them. It does not apply. There has been a carbon market in Quebec for 10 years, and the tax does not apply.
The Conservatives have been spreading lies across the country. How does that make them feel?
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Mr. Speaker, it would be the Liberal fuel regulations. There is the carbon tax. There are the clean fuel standards. There are lots of different bills. It is the Liberal's fuel regulation that is basically hurting Quebeckers now. I heard it when I was in Quebec City. I had people telling me that they were against it.
The member may think it is interesting, but I think that the Bloc Party has been in cahoots with the Liberal Party enough that there is almost as though there are two coalitions in the House. If the Conservative Party has to take on every party in the House on behalf of Canadians, we will do it.
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Mr. Speaker, there was a project from Sustainable Marine Energy. It was the first North American tidal power project, and it was cancelled by the Liberals through stalling and lots of regulatory red tape. Is the member concerned that the bill before us would exacerbate that problem by institutionalizing red tape and bureaucracy, which would prevent projects from being built?
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Mr. Speaker, we have grave concerns on this side of the House that the Liberal government either does not know anything about economics whatsoever or impedes growth and progress across all sectors through every decision it makes. It is probably both.
We have grave concerns because the project the member mentioned did not go forward. I told members about energy east pipeline as another project. There is a lot of evidence over the past seven or eight years that the federal Liberal government has clearly driven a spike into so many economic opportunities in this country. We now look like a laughingstock around the world because all of the projects we have said no to are happening in other jurisdictions, and they are emitting twice the carbon we are with no regulations.
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Uqaqtittiji, this summer we saw the ravages of climate change. We are in a climate crisis, not just in Canada but all over the world. I wonder if the member agrees that Bill C-49 needs to pass because it would create more opportunities for the east coast to use renewable energy, and that we need to act now.
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Mr. Speaker, in my speech I laid out the reasons why we think it should not pass at this point. It needs amendments. However, if this truly is an urgent matter for the federal Liberal government, then why did it take eight years? Why are we watching a recycled video of a housing announcement that happened six years ago? There is no urgency on that side of the floor, and Canadians know it.
People cannot afford their mortgages now. People cannot afford gas. They do not need an electric car where I live because there is nowhere to plug them in. They take 18 months to show up, and then there is nowhere to plug them in when we get them. I could go on and on, but no understanding of rural Canada exists over there, none at all. Therefore, no, the bill should not go forward right now. It needs amendments because the Liberals are impeding progress, and we cannot allow them to keep doing it.
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Mr. Speaker, as someone from Nova Scotia, who represents indigenous communities, I have heard, loud and clear, not only from our provincial leaders but also indigenous leaders that this is an important thing for us to make that transition to clean energy. We have heard from Membertou Chief Terry Paul, who has talked to us about the importance of EverWind and hydrogen moving forward with all of the things that we need to make a better future for our future generations.
I am kind of astonished to hear that the member would stand up and say that there is not anything that looks at indigenous consultation, when economic reconciliation is indeed part of this legislation. Therefore, I am wondering if the member has read the legislation and, if so, can he tell us just one provision that he is against?
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Mr. Speaker, like I said earlier, it is interesting because what I laid out is the fact that the bill does not mention the duty to consult and it does not mention the Crown's responsibility. It is silent on that part of the legislation. As a first nations individual, the member should know that. That should mean as much to him as to anybody else.
The duty to consult is on the Crown. You have bypassed it. You have not given water to the people who needed it and asked for it eight years ago. You have failed indigenous people on every front in this country. You have failed them. You completely failed them.
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- Sep/19/23 1:22:00 p.m.
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Order. Members cannot speak directly to a member. They are speaking to the Chair. They cannot use the word “you” when they are speaking to another member.
We will move on to the next question. The hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands.
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Mr. Speaker, for my colleague from Miramichi—Grand Lake, I had not heard over the course of the summer that he faced health challenges. I had a stroke in June and this is my first opportunity to speak of it in this place since we resumed. I want to thank, from the bottom of my heart, all the members from different parties who sent me notes of encouragement. As they can see, I am recovering well, but I am still not allowed to fly to Ottawa, and not allowed to fly anywhere, so I am glad I can participate virtually. For my friend from Miramichi—Grand Lake, it is good to see him back and I hope he has gotten through his health challenges.
I just do want to correct the record. The member spoke of marine protected areas as if they stopped development. From the point of view of the Green Party, we would love it if that were the case. The Minister of Natural Resources has said recently that even the interim protected areas offshore Newfoundland would be removed if the oil industry that is currently exploring there were to find oil. The government would just get rid of the protected area so that it could exploit oil there. Therefore, I will agree with members of the Conservative Party to this extent, that the Liberal ministers speak out of both sides of their mouth.
I support this bill. Let us hope we move wind energy and offshore wind energy and try to catch up with the rest of the world. We are a long way from being in the lead on this.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments about my health and I am glad to hear that the member is feeling better too.
Clearly, Conservative Party opinion and Green Party opinion on some of these files greatly differ on a good day, and some of the member's more concrete questions would really have to come to the Liberal ministers who drafted this legislation and have them explain it.
For me, I think we have lost so much to other jurisdictions by trying to prove to everybody that we are saving the world here and I do not think our emissions are even high in Canada. We have really stalled productivity all over the place because of the Liberal government's decision-making and that is where our party has to do due diligence in the House, to make sure that we have opportunity for Canadians.
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Mr. Speaker, I am extremely pleased to rise today and speak on behalf of my fellow residents of Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook.
I have to say that in listening to the speech from the Conservatives, I am very surprised but not shocked. I will share what they did back in 2007 with the Atlantic accord in Nova Scotia. Bill C-49 is extremely important to make adjustments and modifications so that we could be moving forward very quickly on the potential of economic growth, as well as reducing our emissions.
I want to share a story that is extremely important. My colleague, who was here in the House with us, Bill Casey was elected in the Conservative Party in 1988. In 2007, believe it or not, he was thrown out of the Conservative Party of Canada under the Harper government. Why was he booted out, ejected from the party? I will tell the House what my colleague told me. I will share his story. I am sure he could do a better job, but I am going to share it.
He stood up and defended the Atlantic accord. The Conservative government, under Harper, in 2007, decided in its budget that it was going to tweak a very important part, all by itself. There was no consultation with the Province of Nova Scotia. It was going to tweak it so that some of the revenues coming in would be lost. It would make a change and Nova Scotia would lose some money because of the equalization payments.
Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Halifax West.
Mr. Casey was telling the Conservative Party to not make that tweak because Nova Scotia could lose up to $1 billion of revenue, if that change was made in the budget. The then premier of Nova Scotia was Rodney MacDonald. The ministers were all trying to convince him that it was okay, that it would be fixed later. Absolutely not.
Mr. Casey was a man of principle. Mr. Casey was in the Conservative Party. He was ejected in 2007. He came back, because the people had lots of trust in him, as an independent and won. Then he came back as a Liberal and won. He was a very good parliamentarian, and he stood for Nova Scotia. He stood for Canadians. I want to thank him for that.
I have to say, when I first got elected, I was impressed with how he got the work done. The first year, I watched him as he moved from desk to desk, talking to ministers about how they could help his region.
It is obvious today that the Conservatives are against an accord that they tried to take pieces out of, which would have affected Nova Scotia. It is very sad.
This has been jointly managed between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland for many years. This is an industry that is now ready to boom. There is actually $1 trillion on the table of investments from now until 2040. In Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and across Canada, we need to take advantage of this. The time is right.
How are we going to do that? Nova Scotia would help us to lower our emissions and bring us to zero by 2050. Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador have the fastest winds in the world. Why is this so important for Nova Scotia and Newfoundland? It is exactly because it puts Canada in the great position of feeding not only Canada but the world in offshore renewal, which is crucial.
Nova Scotia announced last year that it had the intention to issue targets of five gigawatts on seabed licences by 2030. They want to get moving quickly, as well. This would help them to decarbonize the grid, which is the goal of the province.
Our government is very committed to moving forward on this project. If the Conservatives could come on board, it would be very helpful. They keep talking about Atlantic Canada, and here is the chance to help Atlantic Canadians. However, Conservatives are refusing to be part of the solution to help economic development in Atlantic Canada. That is what they are doing today.
Our government is committed to expanding the mandate and to include offshore wind as a key ingredient in the accord.
We will also ensure the highest standards of worker safety and environmental protection.
We have to move now. Can members believe that as I speak today there is not one commissioned wind project offshore in the country right across Canada? There is none. Of course, it is important that we move forward and fill in that gap, and we are going to do that with the amendments we are bringing forward. We are not the only ones. The U.K. and the United States are all expanding their mandates to pick up offshore wind, which is crucial to moving forward.
Last August, I was in Halifax to witness an announcement for the first-ever wind project in Canada called the Nova East Wind project. This is a joint venture between two companies, DP Energy and SBM Offshore, which are global leaders in the industry. They are now putting the project together and will help us establish the first-ever offshore wind farm project in Canada, which will take place in Nova Scotia near Goldboro.
There are other steps we have taken to move the process forward to ensure that the ingredients are in place so that these types of projects can continue to prosper. The government has launched its regional offshore assessments in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, which will provide the information and analysis for future offshore projects. It will inform and improve impact assessments. It will engage indigenous people in various communities across Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the like, and will identify optimal areas for future development.
We need to be in support of this. If the Conservative members want to support Atlantic Canada, they need to change their vote now. It is very important.
In our 2023 budget, our government has indicated new and improved investments and major tax credits for those types of investments and enhancing smart renewables and electrification pathway programs. These are investments that would allow us to continue to prosper quickly and move the agenda forward in this area.
The amendments are not difficult. They would modernize and expand the mandate quickly, like other countries are doing, so we can get it done; improve alignment with the Impact Assessment Act, which is very important; and establish new tools to support government marine conservation agencies. That is what we are talking about today to move the dial quickly so that Canada and Nova Scotia can take their place.
What are we going to do? It is simple. This Parliament needs to approve and pass Bill C-49 so it can get royal assent. What will happen next? The provinces of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador will mirror the same amendments so they can move this project forward. Then we will see prosperity and the important role we play in the world with respect to climate change will also be enhanced. Nova Scotia will launch a call for bids by 2025. We will be there by 2030 for sure. That is how it works, in partnership between the provincial and federal governments.
I think of Mr. Casey, who was told the day before the vote that if he voted against the budget he would not be thrown out. If members want they can google the article where he spoke about his 30 years in Parliament. He said that one of the worst experiences he had was when right after he voted against his government with respect to supporting Atlantic Canadians and Nova Scotia he was told to pack his bags because he was out of there. That is what happened.
We will stand with Atlantic Canadians today, tomorrow and every day.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the passion from the member for Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook. However, I do have a real question related to the bill despite all the rhetoric we heard about the former member of Parliament. It is related to the new licensing regime for exploration, which is capped at 25 years.
Part of the bill talks a lot about empowering indigenous Canadians or using the consultative processes with regulators in conjunction with indigenous Canadians to respect their inherent rights. What the bill does not explicitly outline is if an indigenous resource company has a licence will the government take it away after 25 years?
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Mr. Speaker, let us talk about indigenous people. As my colleague just said a little while ago, indigenous people have been consulted. They will be consulted as we move forward. The chief spoke with the Atlantic caucus a couple of weeks ago and it is 100% in favour of this.
The licences going to 25 years is good. It was lifetime before and if nobody moved on it, then there was no progress. This is important to ensure that we move forward. Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador are excited, are in favour and are asking the Conservative Party of Canada to vote with us to move and improve the economic situation in Atlantic Canada today, not tomorrow.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the passion and exuberance he displayed during his speech. I agree with him completely. The climate events we are experiencing, such as flooding, forest fires and various changes, are significant.
What exactly are oil and gas regulations?
Can my colleague clarify what his government plans to do about oil and gas and the environment?
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her very important question.
As she knows, the environment is very important to us, as it is to her party. In fact, all of the parties, except the Conservative Party, understand the need to advance climate action.
I have been here since 2015. We said that the environment and the economy go hand in hand, and that is exactly what we are doing here. This bill will enable us to meet our environmental responsibilities while growing the economy, creating wealth and showing global leadership. This is where Canada stands. We are in the perfect position, and we will get where we are headed with or without them.
We are ready to go.
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Mr. Speaker, the problem is that we have heard a lot of talk and a lot of hot air from the Liberals on how committed they are, but the Americans have moved dramatically ahead with the IRA, under Biden. Over $110 billion are moving projects forward right now. There are 27 offshore wind operations off the Atlantic that will be in operation by 2025. One off Rhode Island will give energy to 250,000 homes and one off Martha's Vineyard will given energy to 400,000 homes, yet we still have not received the promised tax credits needed to compete. They still have not been finalized. We are still dealing with the regulatory framework.
Why has the United States moved so much further ahead on this, taken so much more opportunity? Why are we still standing in Parliament talking about what could be done when we see what is being done in the United States?
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