SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 220 - Sep/19/23

Sep/19/23 10:41:46 a.m.
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Re: Bill C-49

Madam Speaker, I have a great liking for my colleague, the minister, and I hold him in high esteem. However, when I read Bill C-49, there was something that jumped out at me, and that is the name change. It incorporates the concept of clean energy. However, a careful reading shows that this bill applies mainly to offshore oil drilling. I hardly think offshore oil drilling qualifies as clean energy. I know that the minister criticized our Conservative colleague in the context of the devastating wildfires we went through this summer. We must listen to science. Sometimes, however, I get the impression that my colleagues in the Liberal Party are spinning the science and doing some greenwashing. I would like the minister to explain to us how exactly this bill applies to clean energy.

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Context: House Hansard - 220 - Sep/19/23

Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson

Sep/19/23 10:42:45 a.m.
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Re: Bill C-49

Madam Speaker, Bill C-49 does indeed focus on renewable energy. It will allow us to launch a new offshore wind industry and foster a strong economy in Nova Scotia as well as in Newfoundland and Labrador. That is at the heart of this bill.

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Context: House Hansard - 220 - Sep/19/23

Mrs. Shannon Stubbs

Sep/19/23 11:19:38 a.m.
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Re: Bill C-49

Madam Speaker, I do recall finding interesting points of agreement on Bill C-69 around the arbitrary, unilateral and unclear impacts of that bill, but as she noted, we had wildly diverging world views and aspirations for the energy sector in Canada. Since we are debating this federally, let me just emphasize what Conservatives believe. We believe in lower taxes and less red tape, and the elimination of duplicative and onerous regulations so businesses can thrive. Conservatives want Canada to be the supplier of choice for our responsible oil and gas development, for our own energy affordability and security and for our allies. As prime minister, our Conservative leader would green light green technologies so brilliant engineers can advance more affordable electricity. We would reduce approval timelines for all energy projects, and remove unnecessary, duplicative red tape and punishing taxes so that entrepreneurs and companies can invest in Canada and so that major energy and infrastructure projects can actually get built in this country. This is unlike the NDP-Liberals, who gatekeep, roadblock and make traditional energy more expensive while delaying and driving out new energy opportunities.

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All Topics

Context: House Hansard - 220 - Sep/19/23

Mrs. Shannon Stubbs (Lakeland, CPC)

Sep/19/23 12:13:33 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-49

Mr. Speaker, given that the anti-energy, anti-private sector, anti-resource development costly coalition of the left continues to mis-characterize the position of the Conservatives, let me just say this again. We support innovation and the development of new energy sources, which obviously help diversify Canada's energy mix and create new opportunities and reduce emissions globally. Here is a crucial point, and it is relevant to the member's comments. The Conservatives want to attract private sector investment that will spur the development and the affordable and feasible adoption of alternative energy and the fuels of the future, instead of putting taxpayers on the hook or losing innovation and investment in the valley of death between invention and commercialization in Canada. It makes no difference and it is not in good faith to tell Canadians a bunch of things that are not possible. The Conservatives recognize this reality. Oil and gas remains the top private sector investor in the Canadian economy, Canada's top export. It also counts for 75% of private sector investment in clean tech. That is why the Conservatives take an approach of the development and advancement of all kinds of energy, because all of this innovation technology fits together. Given all of the concerns that the member has raised, since he seems more interested in holding Danielle Smith accountable instead of the Prime Minister, could he just explain how he rationalizes being the power broking prop-up to the federal Liberal government despite all his complaints and crises about which he is apparently outraged?

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Context: House Hansard - 220 - Sep/19/23

Mr. Charlie Angus

Sep/19/23 12:17:21 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-49

Mr. Speaker, the issue is that there are huge opportunities. It is like my colleagues over there are defiantly against the cellphone because they believe the typewriter is going to come back. The difference is that the typewriter is not killing the planet; big oil is. They can pound on their typewriters all they want and scream at the moon. The reality is that when we meet with energy workers in Alberta, which I do all the time, they say that they get it, that they want investment, that wind power needs metals like aluminum. It actually creates jobs in the value chain. The Conservatives are out to ridicule and undermine the creation of one of Canada's main industries, which is auto. They do not want a proper EV battery operation to get off the ground. They want us stuck in the 20th century. They want us to think the world is flat. They want us to think that vaccines do not work. Meanwhile, the planet is burning.

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Context: House Hansard - 220 - Sep/19/23

Mr. Charlie Angus

Sep/19/23 12:19:19 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-49

Mr. Speaker, that is an excellent question. We need to make sure that, whenever we go forward on anything with respect to clean energy, the rights of workers are protected and they are fully covered. We will certainly be looking at that. We spoke with the Liberals again and again about how the clean energy tax credits have to be tied to apprenticeships and standard wage rates, so we are not creating McJobs but actually creating well-paying union jobs. That is Biden's commitment in the United States and needs to be the commitment here, and we will continue to push. I am certainly willing to work with the Bloc on this to make sure that it is clarified in the legislation.

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Context: House Hansard - 220 - Sep/19/23

Mr. Marty Morantz (Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, CPC)

Sep/19/23 12:34:10 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-49

Mr. Speaker, there is one thing I would like to get clarification on. The member talked at great length about the importance of renewable energy, wind and presumably tidal as well, and I agree with him, but the problem is that there was recently a tidal project in Nova Scotia that was basically roadblocked and gatekept by federal bureaucrats. Sustainable Marine Energy had to pull out of its project because of these roadblocks. How can Canadians take the member's government seriously when a simple project like that is blocked by the federal government?

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Context: House Hansard - 220 - Sep/19/23

Mr. Andy Fillmore

Sep/19/23 12:36:07 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-49

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her good question. Bill C-49 is about making sure that offshore energy projects can proceed in a way that causes no harm ecologically, culturally or any other way. The important thing is that we are able to approve these projects quickly in a way that is respectful of all points of view and all perspectives. By working with industry we have landed on the current contents of the bill; by working with stakeholders we have landed on the current contents of the bill, and we believe it is the path forward.

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Context: House Hansard - 220 - Sep/19/23

Ms. Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, NDP)

Sep/19/23 12:36:49 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-49

Mr. Speaker, as indicated by many in this House, we are faced with a climate crisis. In my community in British Columbia we are seeing forest fires. We are seeing catastrophe happening right before our eyes. We know that this has impacted the Atlantic provinces as well, so we are not spared, and this is the reality we are faced with. One of the questions I keep on wondering about is in terms of the action from the government. For the workers who are in the energy sector, the assurance that needs to be given to them is a pathway to an alternative energy and to different infrastructure building. Will the government support a jobs guarantee for the workers in the energy sector and in other energy infrastructure development in Canada? That way, we could transition people smoothly into the sector and ensure that the good-paying union jobs are secured for them and their families.

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Context: House Hansard - 220 - Sep/19/23

Mr. Jake Stewart

Sep/19/23 1:15:13 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-49

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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Context: House Hansard - 220 - Sep/19/23

Mr. Jake Stewart

Sep/19/23 1:17:58 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-49

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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Context: House Hansard - 220 - Sep/19/23

Ms. Lori Idlout (Nunavut, NDP)

Sep/19/23 1:18:53 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-49

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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Context: House Hansard - 220 - Sep/19/23

Mr. Adam Chambers (Simcoe North, CPC)

Sep/19/23 2:35:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, how about a fact? When one month in 27 months the interest rate goes below 3% the current finance minister declares victory. She said that the government's plan to bring inflation down is working, but that is not what is happening. In fact, it is going up because of rising energy costs, but the current government is determined to make energy more expensive by increasing the carbon tax. Here is an idea. Why does it not reduce the carbon tax or other taxes on energy and make it affordable again for Canadians?

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Context: House Hansard - 220 - Sep/19/23

Mr. Francesco Sorbara (Vaughan—Woodbridge, Lib.)

Sep/19/23 3:08:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has underscored the need for many European countries to reduce their reliance on Russian energy and strengthen energy security. Earlier today, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources was joined by the Romanian minister of energy to announce a significant milestone in our two countries' collaboration on nuclear energy. Can the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources update the House on this significant announcement?

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Context: House Hansard - 220 - Sep/19/23

Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson (Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Lib.)

Sep/19/23 3:12:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would say that it is important in the context of the fight against climate change that every sector of the Canadian economy play a role. That is what we are doing through the emissions reduction plan we have put into place. Concurrently, we need to look to take advantage of the economic opportunities that can be enabled through a shift to a lower-carbon future. Earlier this week, I was speaking at the World Petroleum Congress and spoke very clearly to the oil and gas sector about the need to decarbonize to remain relevant and competitive in a low-carbon future. Certainly we are going to continue that conversation with all of the CEOs in the energy sector and in other sectors.

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Context: House Hansard - 220 - Sep/19/23

Mr. Richard Bragdon

Sep/19/23 3:39:03 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-49

Madam Speaker, I would say this. The energy sector in Canada has been doing an incredible job up to this point in innovating and leading the way around the world with some of the best practices for extraction for energy as it relates to carbon capture initiatives and turning lands back into usable, functional areas and environmentally, eco-friendly development. This sector has had some of the best innovators. Instead of getting credit when the sector has exceeded and gone beyond in those areas, we have always found that the government of this country continues to lambast the sector, come against the sector, ridicule the sector and talk down the energy sector of this country at a time when we have a great news story to tell, when we say that Canadian energy is the best energy in the world. It is a great place to invest. It is the best place to get clean, ethically and responsibly developed resources. I think we need to be telling the good news story of energy in Canada and not the bad.

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Context: House Hansard - 220 - Sep/19/23

Ms. Andréanne Larouche (Shefford, BQ)

Sep/19/23 3:52:45 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-49

Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague on his new position as Minister of Seniors. I hope we will be able to meet together soon to discuss this matter. I spent part of the summer on the road, meeting with groups across Quebec. Concerning Bill C‑49, we have a lot of questions for the government. With the summer we just experienced, we need to move past environmental window dressing and on to practical actions aimed at achieving a true energy transition. The environmental issue is a Bloc Québécois priority. Can my colleague reassure us and confirm that he will co-operate by answering our questions? Will he genuinely agree to think of concrete ways of achieving this energy transition?

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Context: House Hansard - 220 - Sep/19/23

Hon. Seamus O'Regan

Sep/19/23 3:58:44 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-49

Madam Speaker, no, it is not easy, and no, I will not reconsider it. I would invite the hon. member to listen to the energy workers of this country about the amount of change they have gone through, the amount of change they continue to go through and the frustrations they feel. I would challenge the hon. member to say who she thinks will do all this work on transitioning our energy sector. Who does she think will lower emissions? Who does she think will build up renewables? It is workers. It is workers I represent in St. John's South—Mount Pearl, people who have built an industry and now hear about the massive change that is happening, and it is. However, we on this side of the House listen to workers, not only because they are important but also because they are absolutely essential to this transition. In my time as minister of natural resources, the first thing that crossed my mind in that industry was that we not lose the good workers in our oil and gas industries, because they are precisely the people who will build up renewables. They are precisely the people who will lower emissions. Who does she think does this work? That is why they are our greatest asset. That is why they are our greatest resource. That is why they are my top priority.

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Context: House Hansard - 220 - Sep/19/23

Mr. Warren Steinley (Regina—Lewvan, CPC)

Sep/19/23 4:00:06 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-49

Madam Speaker, it is great to be back in the House. I have just a simple question regarding the approval process. Will this help projects like tidal energy be approved faster so we can have more clean energy in the Maritimes and on the east coast? We see right now that it is a bit of a slow walk and it should be approved a bit faster. We are hoping this legislation would help that out.

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Context: House Hansard - 220 - Sep/19/23

Mr. Damien Kurek

Sep/19/23 5:24:35 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-49

Madam Speaker, it is interesting that the member would so selectively listen to what I said. Here is the reality. If the member understood the pragmatic realities that energy is facing, she would understand that the point I was making about goats, which bears specific emphasis, is that they are blinded by ideology and refuse to recognize practical reality. It is why her party and its sibling party, or whatever they would call it, their officially connected Alberta party, were so resoundingly rejected in the last election. When it comes to the issue of where Alberta stands on renewable development, here is the reality. We have the most renewable development in this country. We are proud of that and there will be more. What we also need to ensure is that there is a firm regulatory framework to allow that to happen. We have done it with oil and gas and we will do it with renewable energy. The fact that her party is so blinded by politics speaks to why it was rejected in the last Alberta election.

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