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Minister of Justice Attorney General of Canada

Hon. Arif Virani

  • Member of Parliament
  • Minister of Justice Attorney General of Canada
  • Liberal
  • Parkdale—High Park
  • Ontario
  • Voting Attendance: 64%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $120,537.19

  • Government Page
Context: House Hansard - 128 - Nov/16/22
Mr. Arif Virani (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, Lib.)
  • Nov/16/22 7:19:02 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am going to start off with some general responses to what the member opposite has raised and then go into some specific details. First, in terms of investment not having occurred in the last seven years, that is categorically incorrect. The largest foreign investment in Canadian history was actually in the Kitimat facility to develop liquefied natural gas to address clients in Asia, particularly for the transition off coal in India and China. That is a $40-billion investment in the province of British Columbia and it was widely supported in the House. Second, in terms of assisting our allies, I am sure the member opposite, who is a wise individual and contributes well to the debates in this chamber, knows about the $2.6-billion hydrogen energy deal that was struck with our German allies as recently as about a month and a half ago. The proposed site of the project is off the coast of Newfoundland. There is also intense activity on hydrogen and hydrogen cell technology in the member's own province of Alberta, which I am sure he is quite familiar with. Further to that, we are developing a critical minerals strategy, which has a $4-billion funding investment attached to it. That is to meet the growing need for batteries for vehicles and transportation. These batteries will effectively provide an energy source for vehicles not only on this continent but clearly around the world. Lastly, although this is a source of dispute between our two parties, we are not going to apologize, nor should we ever, for the fact that energy projects, energy investments and issues that relate to getting Canadian energy abroad always need to go through an important regulatory permitting requirement, which relates to the Impact Assessment Agency. That program is focused on environmental sustainability and indigenous reconciliation. Those are two things that no one should need to apologize for, and they are important priorities for our country, as they should be. With respect to what we are doing, as the member opposite predicted, I am going to talk about the fact that this is a global problem. I am going to talk about the fact that what we are facing is instability as a result of a pandemic. This is coupled with the fact that we have Russia's illegal and barbaric invasion of Ukraine, which is destabilizing Europe and our European allies. We are there to support our European allies. That is critical. We will continue to support our European allies with good, clean Canadian energy. We are always willing to entertain projects that meet our permitting process, that meet our sustainability requirements and that meet our ambitious targets, which are being discussed as we speak at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh because they are very, very important. With respect to what has been happening in Europe, we need to understand the impact that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has had on Ukrainians themselves, thousands of whom have been killed or wounded. We must also understand that we have been working consistently on energy projects and a number of other projects to assist our allies and have been working in conjunction with our American partners. That includes sanctions, aid and the encouragement of Ukrainians vis-à-vis the Ukrainian diaspora here. The member opposite would also know, which I am sure he appreciates, that to meet some of those needs, we have increased our oil and gas exports this year by the equivalent of 300,000 barrels per day. That is a direct attempt to meet some of the energy needs that are required by our allies. It is also important to note that this unjustified invasion has been a wake-up call to the world that countries need to move away from the authoritarian actors the member mentioned and move toward more stable sources and locations of energy. Canada is ready, willing and able to meet those needs, but we will meet them in an environmentally sustainable manner that also addresses indigenous reconciliation.
676 words
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