44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 6, 2022 11:00AM
- Jun/6/22 2:25:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague is fully aware, the illegal invasion of Ukraine has driven up gas prices around the world. Canada is working with international partners to address the issues around energy security and pricing with respect to hydrocarbon fuels. In fact, we have committed to increasing oil and gas production by—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Jun/6/22 2:39:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we now know that the 300 million barrels of oil that the minister said would be extracted from Bay du Nord was an incorrect number. That was the number given to calm the waters, but the developers never planned to stop at 300 million barrels. They are now talking about increasing that number to at least 500 million. What is worse, the environmental assessment used by the Minister of the Environment did not account for the quantity of oil that the project is meant to produce.
Did the minister know that Bay du Nord would produce much more than the 300 million barrels that were announced?
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- Jun/6/22 2:41:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the quantity of oil does not seem to matter to the Department of the Environment. Is it even a secondary factor in the minister's decision-making, or a negligible factor in the amount of greenhouse gas emissions?
Just as the IPCC warned that we are heading for a climate crisis, Canada approved the extraction of one billion barrels of oil. Let us stop pretending that it will be anything less, because we will not be taken for fools. How could the minister, who still claims to be an environmental activist, approve such a project?
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- Jun/6/22 2:42:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, environmental groups are outraged and with good reason. Greenpeace says that it is completely ludicrous to go ahead with a project without having any real idea of how catastrophic it will be. The Sierra Club adds that the estimates are alarming for the climate and show the futility of the environmental assessment.
However, it is not the environmental groups that the minister is abandoning, it is the planet. He knows that the more barrels of oil are extracted from Bay du Nord, the more greenhouse gases are produced. Knowing all this, why did he say yes to Bay du Nord?
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Madam Speaker, I know the hon. member spoke about how well his government is doing fighting the climate emergency. However, this view certainly has not been shared by environmental groups, which have called the Liberal climate plan magical thinking. For example, Keith Brooks indicated that our pledge in terms of Canada “is weaker than most major European pledges, and weaker than that of the U.S.”.
This is from Keith Brooks, who is responsible for Environmental Defence programs. He went on to say that “Canada’s Emissions Reduction Plan is the most detailed climate plan this country has ever had, and yet it indulges in magical thinking in proposing that oil production can increase”—
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my neighbour. I call him that because his riding neighbours mine, on the Ontario side.
I would say that we in the Bloc Québécois are concerned with the profit margins of our refineries. I think there is a way to address this issue. We must ask ourselves who is benefiting from the rising cost of gasoline right now. The oil companies are making a lot of money while retailers, on the other hand, are getting very little.
There is a problem in this profit chain, and I think the government could work to reduce the profit margins of the refineries. Let us be honest: None of today's oil companies are on the verge of bankruptcy.
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Madam Speaker, I agree with my hon. colleague that it is getting hard for people, but their government seems to be more interested in padding the pockets of their corporate friends, including big oil.
For example, Suncor made a net profit of $4.1 billion and paid out $3.9 billion to its shareholders: $1.6 billion in dividends and $2.3 billion in share buy-backs. The government still provided $2.9 billion for fossil fuel subsidies, yet it provided no increase for health care transfers, something my colleague spoke of as being important, nothing for long-term care, nothing for mental health, and no new funding on a just transition for workers.
Would my hon. colleague agree that what is needed are investments in people rather than in big, wealthy corporations?
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Madam Speaker, it is interesting that the member makes reference to oil. It was not that many years ago that the Conservatives were criticizing the government because the price was too low. When it was selling at 88¢ a litre, we were being accused of crashing the Alberta economy, according to many of the Conservatives. Now they are saying that the price of oil is too high.
The Government of Canada carries some influence; there is no doubt about that, but the member needs recognize that there is a world economy and that the world sets the price of oil. Does he really believe that the Government of Canada can dictate to the world what the price of oil should be?
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to answer my colleague's question. In every speech he always asks one.
I never mentioned oil in my intervention; I mentioned the price of gasoline. I think it would be very naive of the member to suggest that the price of gasoline has not been impacted by the taxes put on it by the government, such as the carbon tax and excise tax. The fact is that we still continue to import millions of barrels of oil. This is shameful given we have the third-largest resource in our backyard. In fact, the government pushes an agenda, an ideology, that we need oil but do not have to buy Canadian oil.
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Madam Speaker, I just want to tell my colleagues that repeating a falsehood does not make it true.
One reason the price of gas is skyrocketing today is refining margins. Big oil producers have boosted their refining margins significantly. Suggesting that the government should cut taxes to give big oil more room to manoeuvre when these greedy corporations are siphoning off what little money the Canadian middle class has is a little rich, in my opinion.
I do not know if my colleague is aware of what refining margins are for oil companies.
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Madam Speaker, I do know that repeating a lie does not make it true. Unfortunately, this is something that maybe the Liberal government should implement for themselves, rather than the rhetoric they want to flog on Canadians.
Do I know that oil companies are making money? Yes, I do. Do I know the extent of the margins they have? I have not looked at them recently, but I do know the extent that we are taxed on our oil and gas. The fact is that we do not develop our own oil and gas, and the government has put a moratorium on that and wants to kill the industry. If we think the price of fuel is expensive now, wait until the government, if it stays in power for another term, has its way with Canada's oil and gas sector. We are doomed.
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Madam Speaker, oil companies are making record profits on the backs of motorists, and banks are making record profits on the backs of consumers.
What does my colleague think of the idea of imposing a special tax on them, and using that money to increase the goods and services tax credit, which would help the poor and the middle class directly?
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Madam Speaker, yes, absolutely.
However, my main concern is that all this public money is going to the oil and gas sector, which is making money hand over fist. I cannot understand why any public decision-maker would decide to financially support an industry that is currently reaping eye-watering profits, an industry that also contributes to putting us all at risk, since it is the industry that produces the most greenhouse gases.
When people look back and analyze this situation in 20 or 30 years' time, I can guarantee that no one will believe the kind of rationale the government is using to try to justify supporting the oil and gas industry.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech, but I do need to share some concerns. I might encourage her to dial back some of the things she said.
She said western oil is among the cleanest in the world, but we need to acknowledge that, empirically, tar sands oil is extremely polluting. I would like her to clarify what she meant and tell us what oil she was talking about. Given this problem, does she not think it is about time the west undertook an economic and environmental transition?
The Bloc Québécois has said time and time again that it is prepared to commit whatever money is being spent on fossil fuel every year to supporting the region's energy transition, which would be a huge help to my colleague's constituents.
I would like her to comment on that.
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Madam Speaker, the simple answer is no, I do not agree with that member. I believe that we should be developing our resources here in Canada to meet the needs of not only our country but the world, when it comes to ethically produced and developed oil.
From the beginning, the Liberal government has been anti-energy. Its policies have been destructive to the energy sector in my home province of Saskatchewan and the west.
I would urge this colleague to reconsider his stance on the ethically produced oil within our own country.
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