- Member of Parliament
- NDP
- Timmins—James Bay
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 63%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $134,227.44
- Government Page
- Mar/22/24 11:48:36 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Joe Biden has created a clean energy economy with 100,000 new jobs, while the Liberal government continues to stumble. We are just days away from the shutdown of the mineral exploration tax credit program. We cannot build a 21st century economy without metals, and those metals have to be found.
Is the government going to outsource metal production to China or Congo, with its horrific human rights abuses, or will it support exploration in Canada where we have good wages, indigenous consent and strong environmental standards?
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- Feb/1/24 1:36:12 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, there are thousands of jobs being created offshore in the United States because of Biden's investments into clean energy.
The member said that the Premier of Newfoundland is just not very bright and has somehow been hoodwinked by the nasty Liberals because he wanted to create clean energy jobs in Newfoundland. He also said that the Premier of Nova Scotia got the wool pulled over his eyes. My family is from Nova Scotia, and they are not dummies there. However, when they want to create thousands of offshore jobs, Conservatives, including the member, have to vote against it because their only plan is to burn the planet. He is outraged that the leaders of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland are pushing for a clean energy Atlantic accord. He is going to vote against it. He is going to tell his people he is going to vote against those jobs and that his own premier is some kind of dummy for supporting jobs. I think he should look in the mirror because he has it all flipped.
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Mr. Speaker, I hope that was not a point of order on this really important issue, but I will try to continue, because this is important.
We actually saw at our committee that the issue of sustainable jobs is a top-of-mind issue for Canadian workers, yet the Conservatives have done everything to slow it down and attack it. This is a big issue, because there are problems with this legislation, and our job is to fix it, not to obstruct something that is badly needed.
I want to get to the point of what we are up against in terms of Mr. Biden. In the first week of the Biden administration, he signed an executive order creating an inter-agency working group on energy transition. He set up a transition group to make sure that energy-dependent regions were not left behind. Biden came out of the gate in his first week. He also went to COP26 and said that America would create a new clean energy economy based on good-paying union jobs, because he knew that he had to send a signal that he was going to fight for the middle class, unlike what we see with the Conservatives, who are out to shut down job investments in Alberta and to attack investments in the battery plants.
This leaves us with, my God, the Liberals, who had never talked about these issues before. They were dragged kicking and screaming by the New Democrats. We said that we have to have some key investments. We need commitments and clarity, such as on prevailing wages. We need to say that if someone is going to get tax credits to do energy investment in Canada, there have to be good-paying union jobs. We also need to make sure that apprenticeships are part of the mix.
However, the promised $85 billion in clean energy tax credits, which sounds great, is not here yet. We are going up against a government that, within its first year, had set up its energy transition, a government in the United States that is now saying that there will be nine million direct jobs from the IRA. We have to compete with the U.S.
I have heard constant drivel of misinformation from the Conservatives about what the Chancellor of Germany asked for from Canada. I met the Chancellor of Germany, and he said that Germany was not interested in LNG but that it was interested in the long term and in hydrogen—
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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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Madam Speaker, we know that the clean energy tax credits of the Biden administration have created an explosive growth in clean energy opportunities, $110 billion in new projects. On offshore wind, the vineyard project will create energy for 400,000 homes; off Rhode Island, 250,000 homes, so it is a huge opportunity.
At the same time, we see the Danielle Smith government shutting down and walking away on $33 billion in opportunities. Atlantic Canada has a huge opportunity here, but the urgency here is getting the tax credits moved from promises to reality so that we do not lose opportunities stateside like poor Alberta is doing from Danielle Smith's actions.
I would like to ask the minister this. When does he see the clean energy tax credits coming into force so that we can take full advantage and compete with the United States?
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- Apr/17/23 12:59:59 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, one of the real issues we are dealing with is the climate catastrophe that is looming, and we certainly see that the Conservatives do not even believe there is a climate crisis. The Liberals have been sitting and doing nothing. New Democrats have pushed them to action to invest in clean energy, as Biden is doing. We now have $85 billion committed, and it is tied to ensuring that there are good union jobs and good wages. These are not McJobs; these are good jobs. This is the support that we have gotten from Alberta energy workers who called on this.
Will my colleague stand with us and keep pushing the current government to make sure that these jobs are there, in the clean-tech sector that is taking a revolutionary approach around the world?
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- Mar/20/23 2:54:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Joe Biden is coming to town. It is going to be a great opportunity for him to school the Prime Minister on how he can move from saying nice words on the climate crisis to actually getting something done. Biden has put out an unprecedented $370 billion to ensure the United States is a leader in the clean energy economy.
Now we know the Conservatives do not believe in clean energy, but when I have been meeting with Alberta workers, they have asked about what the government is going to do. I have a simple question: How much money is the Prime Minister going to put in this budget for clean energy to make sure that Canadian workers are not left behind?
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- Mar/10/23 11:26:39 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Joe Biden has just announced that he will eliminate $31 billion in subsidies and special tax treatments for the big polluters, yet Canada continues to give out billions of dollars every year to profitable oil and gas companies. Big oil is watching this coming budget for more giveaways, handouts and subsidies for things such as carbon capture. These companies are making record profits. They are giving out huge payouts to shareholders and massive bonuses to their CEOs while gouging Canadians at the pumps.
Why will the Liberals not just show some courage and commit in the upcoming budget to eliminating the billions of dollars in tax breaks for big oil?
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- Oct/18/22 2:49:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Alberta workers have delivered a very clear message to Ottawa today that the energy transition is happening and they need the Prime Minister to show up. We see that Biden is transforming the American economy with well-paying union jobs, yet the Prime Minister has missed every climate target he has set. Clean energy represents a $61-billion opportunity in Alberta.
We know the Alberta Conservatives would throw workers under the bus just out of ideological spite, but my question is for the Prime Minister. Is he willing to work with the Alberta Federation of Labour on establishing its plan for a clean energy transformation?
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- Oct/3/22 3:10:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, energy workers in western Canada are frustrated because the current government has no credible plan for a just transition. Compared to Joe Biden, who is transforming the American economy with massive investments in clean tech to create what he calls good-paying union jobs, the Prime Minister has missed every single climate target. He has shown no vision for the incredible potential of a clean energy economy.
My question for the environment minister is this. Will the government put the necessary money on the table to create a clean energy future for Canadian workers and their families?
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