Some Hon. Senators: Nay.

Hon. Dennis Glen Patterson: Welcome, minister. The rich Slave Geological Province alongside the Northwest Territories and Nunavut contains an abundance of minerals listed in the Critical Minerals Strategy — zinc, cobalt, rare earth elements and nickel, to name a few. The Kitikmeot Inuit Association advanced the all-weather Grays Bay Road and Port Project, which will, in addition to benefits such as community resupply and fuel storage, be key to unlocking the Slave Geological Province’s potential in Nunavut.

However, due to the severe impact of the COVID pandemic in the North, $21 million received by the KIA under the National Trade Corridors Fund to help further this project remains unused and is set to expire at the end of this fiscal year. I am asking if you would use your good offices to advocate for a year-long extension for this important infrastructure funding contribution.

Hon. Patricia Bovey: Welcome, minister.

You are aware of my concern for oceans and their fragility from our work together on Bill C-55. With that in mind, my question relates to the many suggestions that have been made to ship oil and natural gas out of Churchill through Hudson Bay and the Arctic Ocean. As Minister of Natural Resources and former Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, do you support these ideas? If so, what is your concern about the potential for environmental harm?

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, we welcome today the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, P.C., M.P., Minister of Natural Resources, to ask questions relating to his ministerial responsibilities.

Pursuant to the order adopted by the Senate on December 7, 2021, senators do not need to stand. Questions are limited to one minute and responses to one and a half minutes. The reading clerk will stand 10 seconds before the expiry of these times. Question Period will last one hour.

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Grand Chief Peter Johnston of the Council of Yukon First Nations and his family. They are the guests of the Honourable Senator Loffreda.

On behalf of all honourable senators, I welcome you to the Senate of Canada.

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear!

Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson, P.C., M.P., Minister of Natural Resources: I wouldn’t agree with your assertion. It’s extremely important that these projects go ahead. That’s particularly true in the oil sands, where CCUS — carbon capture, utilization and storage — is one of the major opportunities for reducing emissions.

We must be sensitive to two things: the overall economics of the projects and what our friends in the United States are doing under the Inflation Reduction Act.

We brought forward what we thought was an appropriate incentive to bring forward the capital that’s required to build these kinds of projects. We expect the private sector also to be putting its capital at play; it is part of the solution here, too. There are other ways in which we can create value — for example, contracts for differences, which is something we are embedding in the new Canada growth fund which is of value and must be calculated into the overall economics.

We are waiting for the Government of Alberta to come forward with what it is going to do under its royalty regime as part of this. They have been working on that for some significant time, but that’s part of this on a go-forward basis. We have done lots of analysis with respect to how we compare vis-à-vis the United States, and Canada is actually quite reasonable in terms of where it sits.

We certainly want these to go ahead. I talk to the Pathways Alliance CEOs all the time; I talk to the Province of Alberta all the time. My view is that these are going to proceed. The Government of Canada is committed to doing what we need to do, but we obviously expect the sector to do their part as well.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, the time for Question Period has expired. I know you will wish to join me in thanking Minister Wilkinson for being with us today. Thank you, minister.

Hon. Peter M. Boehm: Honourable senators, with leave of the Senate and notwithstanding rule 5-5(j), I move:

That the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade have the power to meet on Thursday, December 15, 2022, even though the Senate may then be sitting, and that rule 12-18(1) be suspended in relation thereto.

Some Hon. Senators: Yea.

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: I believe the “yeas” have it.

And two honourable senators having risen:

Senator Dalphond: You mean the amendments to the Pension Benefits Standards Act will apply to provincial pension funds?

Senator Wells: It would fall under the financial institutions rubric, and therefore it would be nationally covered.

Hon. Brent Cotter: Would Senator Wells take a question?

Senator Wells: I would.

The Hon. the Speaker: Are senators ready for the question?

Senator Dalphond: I have two questions. The first question is about the Pension Benefits Standards Act — the question was asked by Senator Marty Deacon. It applies only to federal pension funds. It doesn’t apply to most pension funds that are regulated by the provinces. Am I right or wrong?

Senator Wells: You’re wrong. I don’t want to say this again, but you’re wrong. It would apply to both federal and provincial pensions.

The Hon. the Speaker: It was moved by the Honourable Senator Oh, seconded by the Honourable Senator Wells, that this bill be read a second time.

Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?

Hon. Senators: Question.

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: All those against, please say, “nay.”