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Decentralized Democracy

Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson

  • Member of Parliament
  • Minister of Energy and Natural Resources
  • Liberal
  • North Vancouver
  • British Columbia
  • Voting Attendance: 61%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $134,232.65

  • Government Page
  • Apr/10/24 2:48:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would suggest to my hon. colleague across the House, who is from the great province of Saskatchewan, that she have a conversation with Dr. Brett Dolter at the University of Regina, who has said that eight out of 10 Canadian families get more money back, and it is those who live on modest incomes who do the best on a net-benefit basis. It is an affordability program, but it is also a program to address the climate crisis that imperils the future of our children. That these folks have zero plan to address the issue and do not seem to care at all about it is reckless and irresponsible.
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  • Apr/8/24 2:36:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I do think it is time that the Conservative Party stopped trying to mislead Canadians. The price on pollution is an effective mechanism for reducing carbon emissions, and eight out of 10 Canadian families get more money back, a fact that was underlined by 200 economists across this country who said it is the most efficient and most effective way to reduce emissions that ensures we address affordability. In fact, Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe last week said that he explored alternatives to the carbon price but he found they were too expensive. My goodness, we have been saying that for years.
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  • Mar/21/24 2:33:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again I would say that the Conservatives need to stop spouting falsehoods. The average net benefit to Canadians in Ontario is $255 a year. In Manitoba it is $365 a year. In Alberta it is $723 a year, and in Saskatchewan it is $349 a year. What these folks are going to do is make poor people poorer, and they are going to essentially sacrifice the future of our children going forward. Shame on them.
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  • Dec/4/23 4:35:18 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, members will not be surprised to know that I actually agree with the comments my hon. colleague made. The bill before us is a very important one. It is an important bill for building an economy that would create jobs and economic opportunity in every province and territory in this country, certainly in Newfoundland and Labrador. That includes the offshore wind industry that the member's premier is very keen to move forward on. Certainly, it is an area we have focused on. It is also across the country. It is the battery manufacturing plant that we announced in British Columbia a few weeks ago. It is the Dow chemical facility and the Air Products facility in Alberta. It is the Jansen potash mine in Saskatchewan. It is the Volkswagen battery plant. It is the Northvolt plant in Quebec. We are building an economy that will be strong and prosperous, and we are involving and engaging Canadians in that process, something that, clearly, the Conservatives are not interested in doing.
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Madam Speaker, there is a lot of revisionist history in there. The committee has been blocked by the Conservative filibuster for six weeks, which is 11 meetings and about 25 hours. The committee has been stuck on the same meeting since October 30. The committee could have heard from witnesses on both bills, Bill C-49 and Bill C-50, which were in front of the committee, but the Conservatives blocked it. In terms of the work that we are doing to ensure that there is a prosperous future for every province and territory in this country, I would point the hon. member to the announcement of the $11.5-billion plant with Dow Chemicals in Fort Saskatchewan, where we worked collaboratively with the Government of Alberta; the Air Products hydrogen facility near Edmonton, where we worked collaboratively with the Government of Alberta; and the CCUS tax credit, where we have worked collaboratively with the Government of Alberta, which will create thousands of jobs going forward in that member's riding.
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  • Dec/4/23 3:09:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to once again thank my hon. colleague for his consistent advocacy for Alberta. Any relevant, credible plan must take climate change seriously and look to seize the economic opportunities that can come through a transition to a low-carbon future. Last week, Dow announced it was taking advantage of Canada's carbon capture hydrogen investment tax credit to build the world's first net-zero petrochemical facility. It is an $11-billion investment and will create 8,000 jobs in construction and hundreds thereafter for Fort Saskatchewan, but it is not just the credits that motivated Dow. The Dow CEO said that they invested here because Canada has a price on carbon pollution. While Conservatives have no plan, they do not have a plan for the environment, they do not have a plan for the economy, our plan is working.
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  • Oct/31/23 3:08:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would encourage my hon. colleague to do a little more reading. Home heating oil is two to three times as expensive as natural gas. It is imperative that we enable people to implement heat pumps, to be more affordable, to ensure that they can actually save the $2,500 a year and do so in a manner that is consistent with fighting climate change. We also have programs to encourage the displacement of natural gas-fired furnaces through the greener homes program, through the greener homes loan program and to see the implementation of heat pumps. Certainly folks in Saskatchewan, where I grew up, are very much able to access those programs.
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  • Oct/16/23 12:31:12 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-49 
Madam Speaker, as I said, it is important to move this legislation to committee expeditiously and eventually out of Parliament in order to seize the economic opportunities that are there but will not be there forever. There are other countries that are looking at seizing those. I would say to my hon. colleague that, in terms of climate change, absolute emissions in Saskatchewan have gone up. They have not gone down. Saskatchewan is one of the few provinces in this country that has no climate target, in terms of actually reducing emissions by 2030. We would love to see Saskatchewan join the ranks of many provinces and territories in this country that have a fulsome climate plan that includes a climate target.
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  • Oct/16/23 12:16:21 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-49 
Madam Speaker, I will start by saying I am very proud to have worked for a distinguished premier such as Premier Romanow, who was somebody who did enormously positive things for the Province of Saskatchewan after the previous Conservative premier, Grant Devine, virtually bankrupted the province. However, I would also say that it is extremely important that we are moving forward rapidly to fight carbon emissions and to build an economy that can be strong and create good jobs and economic opportunities for Canada and for Canadians from coast to coast to coast. This bill is about creating such opportunity in the provinces of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. It is important that we have a plan to fight climate change and that we have a plan for the economy; the Conservative Party has neither.
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  • May/1/23 12:22:38 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-47 
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is absolutely right. I am probably one of the few members of this House who actually knew Tommy Douglas personally. It was part of Tommy Douglas' vision for medicare, more generally, to ensure that health issues, dental being a health issue, were addressed. In fact, Saskatchewan for a long time, led the way. Allan Blakeney brought out a dental care program in every school in the province to ensure that children had their teeth treated. It was eliminated by then Conservative premier Grant Devine. This is an important step forward from a health perspective and we are very much committed to moving forward.
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