44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 19, 2023 10:00AM
Mr. Speaker, as I have said many times in this House, there seems to be two block parties in the House of Commons: the Bloc Québécois and the block everything party. That party is the Conservatives, who block every piece of legislation and refuse to move them forward. They blocked dental care. They blocked everything that provides supports for Canadians.
In this case, of course, I guess there is some weird logic, because they hate clean energy. We have certainly seen that in Alberta where Danielle Smith has ripped up the clean energy sector, costing thousands of jobs. Therefore, legislation that actually helps to support that clean energy sector, creates new jobs for workers and also ensures that workers have a seat at the table is anathema to the Conservatives. Of course, they love bankers and CEOs, but they seem to hate workers, seniors and anybody who really benefits.
Through you to my colleague, is that really why the Conservatives, yet again, have blocked this type of legislation that actually benefits workers and Canadians?
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Mr. Speaker, I do not want to enter into the psychology of the Conservative Party. Therefore, I thank the hon. member for the question, but I will refuse the attempt.
Let me just say this. I would like to comment on his last point, if I could, as that is really what is at the heart of what we are proposing to do here.
Energy workers, oil and gas workers, should not just have a seat at the table, but should be leading that table. The problem is that for far too long concurrent governments, and I would argue ours, have left them out of the debate. They need to not just be a part of that debate, but to lead it.
I have skin in the game. My constituents are oil and gas workers. We have built a very proud offshore industry off the coast of Newfoundland. When they hear talk about change, tumult, and things that are exaggerated on social media like there is some master plan that is being made up in some star chamber, they get nervous necessarily. What we are saying with this legislation is that we are putting them at the table as decisions are made to best prepare them for a future that is happening now.
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Mr. Speaker, when I look at the other side, I am looking at the kings of red tape when it comes to energy production. One of the first things I was so happy to do was with respect to exploratory well environmental assessments on our offshore, off Newfoundland. The assessments were at 300 days per exploratory well until the Conservatives got in power and somehow magically found a way to triple that time to 900 days to make an exploratory well, which is a simple drill that goes into the sea bed to see if there is oil there. They put it in the same category as Hibernia and as Hebron, both full platforms. The Conservatives did not even get time to amend it. Maybe they did not care.
We did not want mistakes like that. One of the best parts of the much-maligned Environmental Assessment Agency is that it is able to do regional assessments. We were able to do one for the Newfoundland offshore, and we were able to reduce that time, as a result of looking at the entire basin, from the Conservatives' 900 days to our 90 days, as it should be.
That is because we paid attention to what people are doing on the ground, and it is one of those few occasions where, in 90 days instead of 900 days, we increased environmental oversight because we were looking at the entire basin and not just one item after another after another, consecutive duplicative red tape that the Conservatives managed to put in the way of our offshore.
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Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe what I heard from the minister's mouth. He told my colleague earlier that workers did not want to use the term “just transition”.
However, this is coming specifically from the unions. I have had so many meetings with unions to talk about the just transition, and the folks representing workers do want to talk about a just transition. The minister says that workers do not like that term. I think it is the government that does not like that term.
No one in the western world uses the term “sustainable jobs” except in Canada. Someone will have to explain that to us at some point. I think it comes down to fear. The government is afraid of how Albertans and people in the oil and gas industry will react to the just transition, so it prefers to use a wishy-washy term like “sustainable jobs”. If the government cannot even call it what it is, we cannot expect it to take courageous action to lead the energy transition.
There will always be people who do not want the energy transition. Should the term “energy transition” be changed to “power alteration” or whatever? It is nonsense.
I wonder if the minister could explain to me why the terminology changed from “just transition” to “sustainable jobs”?
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Mr. Speaker, time is of the essence here. The Inflation Reduction Act has passed in the United States. It is perhaps the single greatest industrial policy, and probably the single greatest piece of legislation, that has been passed in any democracy in the world on the issue of energy transition. We have to move, and the way in which we move will determine whether how we move is sustainable and competitive in drawing investment, and we want to do it right. We want to do it with workers on side.
On the issue of time allocations, members can please tell me what in the bill is so bad about including workers in decisions. Members can tell me if there are larger issues that are unresolved, as there are in the House on issues of energy transition, but on the issue of whether workers should have a role here, let us get to work.
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Mr. Speaker, Bea Bruske, the president of the Canadian Labour Congress, said that workers have raised their voices and have helped make the sustainable jobs act a reality, and that Canada's unions are proud to work with the government to develop legislation that focuses on workers. The International Union of Operating Engineers said that the act “puts the interests of energy workers at the forefront of a low-carbon economy.” The international vice president of the IBEW said that this act shows the government's “commitment to protecting good-paying, highly skilled jobs.” Canada's Building Trades Unions welcomes the bill, saying that the consultation built into this process would “ensure workers are front and centre during this transition.”
If there are issues with the people they elect, then you can take it up with them. However, to say that somehow these people who are there, whom these workers elect, are elites is to put us into question. What are we? Are we elites?
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Mr. Speaker, I am really glad that we are moving forward on the bill before us. The NDP worked very hard to ensure that workers were in fact at the table for the conversation and played a part in this legislation.
The Biden administration has moved on an all-of-government approach and is looking to make really progressive changes on clean energy. I think that it is really important that our government keep pace with one of our largest partners in terms of the economy, etc. This legislation is essential for moving beyond the promises of just investments and tax credits, and I would like to hear about how this legislation could put us on that world stage, as we need to move forward with it. We need to do that very quickly.
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Madam Speaker, I acknowledge the member's comments at the beginning of her question. Yes, the government is only able to do what it is doing today with respect to this bill because we were able to get support from the New Democratic Party in getting the bill to committee. Canadians will benefit as a direct result.
The Prime Minister, along with other ministers, such as my colleague from Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, the Minister of Northern Affairs, travel up north a great deal. The council membership would take into consideration things such as indigenous communities and different regions of the country. The member is right: There are so many opportunities across Canada in terms of the energy transition and good-quality jobs for all regions of the country.
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Madam Speaker, we are not saying to do less. Rather, we want to see things that bring results. The carbon tax, which the Bloc wants to radically increase, has done nothing. The Liberals have not met a single emissions target they have set. Flooding and forest fires are still happening.
Taxes are not the answer, but research, innovation and new technology are, and industry has been doing this for years. We will get there, and we want to get there, but we also have to be realistic about how we get there. To say that we are going to end all fossil fuels tomorrow when 3% of our energy comes from renewables is not realistic. Where would the other 97% come from? That is what we are saying.
We need to support these industries, which are world class and world leading, with the highest standards on the planet. That is how we will get there, not by being ideological and shutting down these critical industries.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to say to the hon. member for Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères that a job is a job. We want as many Canadians working as possible. We want as many Canadians as possible ensuring that they have bright futures. If somebody is getting up to go to work in the energy sector in Alberta or British Columbia or Newfoundland, that is a good job, paying them and their families. It ensures that they can put food on the table and that they have good futures for themselves and their kids.
We know that the renewable industry in Canada is growing. Investments in the renewable industry, whether it is solar, wind, hydrogen, along the spectrum or nuclear, which is a big energy source here in the province of Ontario, are making those key strategic investments as we continue to grow our energy sources. However, we all foresee that, for the years to come, we will continue to utilize other forms of energy.
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Madam Speaker, I know the language shifter, the lingo and the way we are talking about this has evolved. That evolution in language in talking about sustainable jobs is part and parcel of working with labour leaders across the country. I believe it actually reflects the language and framing they would like us to use. The evidence shows there is a lot at stake here. There is a lot of investment and potential economic growth. There are a lot of jobs at stake, and those jobs are truly sustainable jobs. They will be with us for generations to come as we make this green energy transition.
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Madam Speaker, the only thing being stolen from our country is the prosperity that should be given to Canadians. It is that member's disconnect with reality that is on full display here.
I can see windmills from my house. I drive by solar farms on a regular basis. For that member to somehow think that we have to pick one or the other shows an absolute disconnect with the reality of how we solve what is a developing global energy crisis.
Let us build in our country. Let us ensure there is clean tech. Let us ensure that when it comes to traditional energy, we continue to move toward that lower emissions path. Let us ensure that it is Canadians who lead the way as opposed to being held back like they are under that coalition.
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- Oct/19/23 3:11:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is just shameful to be drawing out that type of conspiracy theory when we are talking about such sensitive issues.
Let us talk about how we are supporting our allies, because the facts are important. We are working with all of our allies in providing green hydrogen and providing nuclear technologies. We are there to support our allies when they come looking to us for support, and I would ask the member opposite this: If he cares so much about clean energy, why did he vote against supporting the creation of offshore wind in our Atlantic provinces? It would create good-paying jobs and clean energy.
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Mr. Speaker, I have a riding that has large hydro power development, but it also has a lot of diesel generation. My communities want to get off diesel. They want to be on clean energy. They want to see new opportunities. Creating small power projects that are clean energy would allow them to do that. What I say to my constituents is that we should get on with the job and make this work so we can have new opportunities in our communities.
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Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest to the member's comments recently as he talked about the transition to renewable and clean jobs. Are we to believe that the reason the Premier of Alberta put a moratorium on renewable energy projects is that they were so wildly unpopular in Alberta? Is that what we are to believe?
Would it not be the case that there were so many projects that the premier became afraid that they were—
Hon. Pierre Poilievre: The same policies doubled energy prices.
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Mr. Speaker, I know that facts really tend to frighten the Conservatives. If they are feeling uncomfortable about facts, maybe they can get a little safe room where they can live in disinformation. I was talking about the International Energy Agency.
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Mr. Speaker, I hope that was not a point of order on this really important issue, but I will try to continue, because this is important.
We actually saw at our committee that the issue of sustainable jobs is a top-of-mind issue for Canadian workers, yet the Conservatives have done everything to slow it down and attack it. This is a big issue, because there are problems with this legislation, and our job is to fix it, not to obstruct something that is badly needed.
I want to get to the point of what we are up against in terms of Mr. Biden. In the first week of the Biden administration, he signed an executive order creating an inter-agency working group on energy transition. He set up a transition group to make sure that energy-dependent regions were not left behind. Biden came out of the gate in his first week. He also went to COP26 and said that America would create a new clean energy economy based on good-paying union jobs, because he knew that he had to send a signal that he was going to fight for the middle class, unlike what we see with the Conservatives, who are out to shut down job investments in Alberta and to attack investments in the battery plants.
This leaves us with, my God, the Liberals, who had never talked about these issues before. They were dragged kicking and screaming by the New Democrats. We said that we have to have some key investments. We need commitments and clarity, such as on prevailing wages. We need to say that if someone is going to get tax credits to do energy investment in Canada, there have to be good-paying union jobs. We also need to make sure that apprenticeships are part of the mix.
However, the promised $85 billion in clean energy tax credits, which sounds great, is not here yet. We are going up against a government that, within its first year, had set up its energy transition, a government in the United States that is now saying that there will be nine million direct jobs from the IRA. We have to compete with the U.S.
I have heard constant drivel of misinformation from the Conservatives about what the Chancellor of Germany asked for from Canada. I met the Chancellor of Germany, and he said that Germany was not interested in LNG but that it was interested in the long term and in hydrogen—
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Mr. Speaker, I really appreciate that. It allows me to go back. I was responding to the previous intervention and attack on me by a Conservative, who said that she contested what was said by the Chancellor of Germany to me in a meeting. I was saying that we were meeting with the Germans about energy. The Conservatives went over. We do not know who they met with, but it is worth noting an $818 bottle of wine. There was then a second bottle of wine for $265. That still is probably pretty good. That is not sparkling Baby Duck—
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Mr. Speaker, words do matter, and when we met with workers about what they wanted, they wanted to know there was a future. That was why the words “sustainable jobs” meant something. We heard that from workers.
In terms of international obligations, we need to ensure in the legislation that this is not just an island by itself. It must meet the international commitments we have made on issues like the just transition.
It is very important, when I am in Edmonton meeting with electrical workers who want to know what their future looks like, to say this is about jobs. This is about tomorrow. Once we have established trust with the working class, we will move further ahead because there is no energy transition without workers at the table. That is why the language matters.
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