44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 8, 2022 02:00PM
Madam Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's thoughtful and articulate speech. I share his dismay at the $2.6 billion in this budget for carbon capture and storage, not because I do not believe that this technology will likely play some modest role in reaching our climate targets, but because this is a direct subsidy to some of the wealthiest and most profitable corporations in our country. The $2.6 billion is not pocket change. Could my colleague perhaps provide his thoughts on where that $2.6 billion could be better spent in meeting our climate targets and ensuring a healthy future for our kids?
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Madam Speaker, the member for Flamborough—Glanbrook spoke a bit about carbon pricing. This is an interest of mine, particularly because the experts say that there are really two approaches to driving down emissions: either a market-based carbon pricing approach, which is more efficient and less expensive, or a regulatory approach, which is less efficient and more expensive. The Conservative Party, in the last election, supported a carbon pricing approach, albeit a bit of a strange approach, under the leadership of the member for Durham.
I am curious if my colleague can tell me where the Conservative Party currently stands on using market-based carbon pricing approaches to address the climate crisis.
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Madam Speaker, I enjoy my work with the hon. member on the transport committee.
Conservatives did support a carbon pricing scheme in the last election. I served on the board of directors for the Royal Botanical Gardens, which is responsible for many sensitive and important ecological lands within the greater Hamilton area. The environment is important to me, and I take that question seriously.
Our point is that at a time of inflation, at a time when Canadians are struggling, why are we increasing the carbon tax?
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Madam Speaker, I am really intrigued by the carbon capture topic that the member brought up and I look forward to learning about the facility in his riding.
The concern I have about this approach, though, is that we are heavily subsidizing a very profitable industry. Our general approach to subsidies is that the government should be stepping in and helping those companies and those Canadians who are struggling the most, the ones who do not have the funds available to make the changes that need to be made.
The polluter pays principle seems like an inherently Conservative principle. Would my colleague not agree that we should not be giving billions of dollars to the most profitable companies, which very clearly have the funds available to invest in the kind of research and development that is required in this area?
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Madam Speaker, the fact of the matter is that even before the government brought forward this tax credit, oil and gas companies in this country were already investing in carbon capture. Companies in Saskatchewan and Alberta have been sequestering carbon for enhanced oil recovery purposes and non-enhanced oil recovery purposes. We have Whitecap Resources' Weyburn project, the Shell Quest project, the Redwater Sturgeon Refinery in my riding and the Nutrien fertilizer plant. They did receive some government support under the previous Conservative government, but I think the difference is that we want to see much more. We want to unlock the potential for carbon capture in this country, and if it means putting up a billion dollars to leverage $10 billion of private investment and it achieves real reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, I do not see why the NDP would not support it.
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Madam Speaker, in my riding, carbon capture and storage is very important. It is a technology that is working, that is being supported by the private sector.
The NDP has constantly attacked carbon capture and storage, claiming that it is not working, when we know that, in fact, it already is working. It is an important way of working with industry to support the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
I wonder if the Bloc could share its perspective on the important role that carbon capture and storage can play as part of our efforts to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.
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Madam Speaker, I am very pleased that someone has finally found a riding where that technology works, because we have been searching for one from the start.
In any case, we do not believe in that. The best carbon capture facility is a tree. There was a strategy for that. The government was supposed to plant billions of trees, but it has yet to plant a single one. I myself have planted more than that.
Let us say that this is a carbon capture strategy that has shown that this technology has not worked so far and that it would cost a fortune. It would be pretty sneaky to make taxpayers foot the bill.
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