Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I worry that the follow-up betrays a bit ignorance of Canadian jurisprudence and the operating of the oil sector. I have worked on many pipeline projects in my career, and it is not just building a pipeline; it is building the product to get into that pipeline. That is going to take some time. Those things need to be aligned. Now, Alberta will not even submit a case until the spring. …
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Mr. Speaker, it was heartening to hear the member opposite say he wants the MOU to proceed. I hope he does realize that includes strong industrial carbon pricing, moving the effective price of carbon in Alberta from approximately $25 a tonne to $130 a tonne. I welcome that kind of environmental commitment, but it is very inconsistent with what I have heard in the House before. However, this gets u…
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Mr. Speaker, I personally believe that more is required. It is not enough, and we are going to need to figure out new ways to address emissions as we move forward. Some of those technologies are in infancy, and some do not exist yet, but it will require significant investment to get us to where we need to be and, in fact, push beyond that to start taking carbon out of the air to allow us to undo t…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her question. Of course, our government is always ready to listen to Canadians, and of course, budgets are always moment-in-time documents. We did engage with Canadians in our pre-budget consultation, and the insights gathered through these consultations and online submissions played a vital role in shaping the budget. This is a plan to build major infrastr…
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Mr. Speaker, of course, this is a case that we are following very carefully. I will note that this is probably a question better targeted toward the justice minister, but I will say that in terms of the view of the case, one of the things that we are aware of is that while this is a lever that the President has used in the United States, there are other levers, so we should not assume, just based …
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Mr. Speaker, obviously, we stand with the affected communities. It is terrible to see the job losses. The minister has talked to Domtar and the B.C. minister of forestry. We want those jobs back, and we are going to work very hard to get them back.
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Mr. Speaker, obviously, the unjustified trade war that the United States has brought on softwood lumber is unacceptable. We are working hard to resolve it. Today, the United States Chamber of Commerce called on the Trump administration to drop tariffs on lumber. We are seeing that the pressures are beginning to build. We will continue to work at all levels to resolve this, and we will continue to …
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Mr. Speaker, we stand with them. We stand with them with supports that allow them to keep those jobs. We stand with them when they lose those jobs and are in those unemployment lines, with more supports there as well. We stand with the companies by investing in them heavily. We will always stand with our forestry communities. I invite the member to work with me to bring even more supports to those…
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Madam Speaker, helpful ideas like “Just get a deal done” are not going to get the deal done. We need ideas. We need support for workers, the workers the member and I both care about. How about we work together to help this industry, instead of these histrionics in the House? How about that?
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Madam Speaker, we are in a trade war. We are in a very difficult situation, and in that situation, this government is standing with affected workers. We are moving heaven and earth to help them. We just announced another $500 million of supports two days ago. The member is fully aware of this. We are open to more ideas for more supports. We had a take-note debate the other night. I asked the Conse…
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Madam Speaker, indigenous treaty rights do not need to be spelled out in MOUs; they are inherent, but I do want to talk a little about the MOU and what it allows. The MOU allows us to have a durable climate plan, one that moves the effective price of carbon in Alberta from $25 to $130. It allows us to reduce methane emissions by 75%. It allows us to take carbon out of the air through carbon captur…
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Madam Speaker, the far-reaching memorandum of understanding with Alberta includes a number of timelines. I invite members to read it. By July 1 of next year is when a pipeline proposal will come from the Province of Alberta. There are timelines, and we are seeing that there is not just talk about pipelines, but talks about AI data centres, nuclear energy, and many ways we can grow the Canadian eco…
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Madam Speaker, yesterday was a great day for Canada because it got us onto a better course of action and a more common ground and confederation between Alberta and Canada, which will also lead to a better course of action across the entire country. Part of the agreement was that we would work with British Columbia, that we would work in a tripartite table, and of course, that we would all respect …
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Madam Speaker, tinfoil is actually made of aluminum, so I would like to thank the member for his first act in supporting that sector in the House. The fact of the matter is this: Yesterday, we announced an MOU with Alberta that increases economic prosperity for this country, increases environmental sustainability and the durability of environmental action in this country, and makes us less reliant…
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Mr. Chair, it is an excellent idea, and while it is not my place alone to be able to make that decision, I am certainly supportive of it and will work with the department.
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Mr. Chair, I completely agree: We need to be seized with urgency on this. In fact, when forestry executives informed the minister on Thursday that they were having trouble accessing these funds, he reached out to the major banks, which are responsible for delivering this BDC product. The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources talked with the banks last night to make sure they were as seized with…
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Mr. Chair, something my hon. colleague just mentioned has triggered a question. One of the things this chamber needs to understand is that one of the reasons why the United States feels that it does not need Canadian software lumber right now is that lumber prices are very low by historical standards. When prices come up, that pain is going to be felt much more acutely by American consumers. Obvio…
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Mr. Chair, I wanted to inquire about the comments around 30 by 30 and access to economic fibre. I feel that it is hard to blame 30 by 30 for a lack of fibre when, as noted, B.C.'s tenures are not being fully used. In fact, when I look at Scandinavian countries and European countries with a much smaller footprint, they tend to be quite robust in their generation of fibre. This is a very large count…
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Mr. Chair, obviously both are big numbers. We know that the number in support of forestry needs to get even bigger, so stay tuned, because later this week we will have something additional to say on that. In terms of the flowing of funding from the previous announcements, we have just discussed the $700 million in liquidity, which is flowing right now. That money is making its way through. Some bu…
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Mr. Chair, I thank the member for his question. Yes, all that is interconnected. The forestry sector is an ecosystem. I think the hon. member for Jonquière described it as a chain. I completely agree, and it falls apart if any part gets weak. When we talk about supports for the forestry sector, one of the things I discussed in my remarks was that we need to talk about the communities around it as …
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Madam Chair, we have already talked about the fact that, with negotiations, we cannot just magically wish them to go better, but I certainly welcome any suggestions on how to deal with Donald Trump. I wanted to turn to a comment that was made about B.C. and the fact that not all the tenures are being used, which I think is true. The forestry sector, of course, to be successful needs four things. I…
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Mr. Chair, our government is there and will continue to be there to help the Canadian softwood lumber industry. The forestry sector is core to our economy and our Canadian identity. My own family's story has been interwoven with Canadian forestry for centuries. My father David Hogan grew up in mill towns and worked summers at the newsprint mill. My grandfather John Hogan was a career pulp worker w…
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Mr. Chair, reality is obviously much more complicated. Europe has a 10% tariff, but it is quite far away and does not have the natural advantage of geography that we do. It also does not have the quality of wood we do. One of the benefits of Canadian lumber production is that it is built in an environment that is colder, so the wood becomes more dense. It also allows, because we do it in a more na…
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Mr. Chair, yes, it is possible. Softwood lumber exporters are clearly facing significant debt and need financial assistance in the form of cash flow. However, there are risks associated with such a program, as we have heard. That said, we are open to considering all options that could help boost cash flow and strengthen the sector's financial situation.
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Mr. Chair, my colleague's question touches on a couple of important points worth highlighting. First, any support of the forestry sector is going to require collaboration with the provinces, because it is simply not going to work otherwise. When we look at tenure in particular and at economic access to fibre, that really is in the provincial hands primarily. There are things the federal government…
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Mr. Chair, obviously the hearts of everybody here tonight in this take-note debate go out to anybody who is affected, and I really, truly hope that we as a chamber can come up with solutions to make their lives better, which is exactly what the purpose of this take-note debate is. We will be announcing additional supports this week. I really encourage the opposition to reach out with their ideas. …
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Mr. Chair, I want to extend a special thanks to my colleague because of his work on the biomass ITC, which he was instrumental in helping bring forward. I want to offer a comment that I hope the member will respond to on the trade negotiations with the United States and the psychology of the U.S. President, about which I will be modest in my comments. He is a deal maker, and he does come from a de…
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Mr. Chair, my colleague touched on something we have not discussed enough so far tonight: the effects of climate change on the forestry sector. She is absolutely right; it is creating challenges in terms of the spruce budworm and the pine beetle, and of course it is making forest fires larger in areas quite far away from where we have ever managed woods, because there are drier and hotter conditio…
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Madam Speaker, of course, the situation the forestry sector faces is absolutely untenable and unjustified, and it is based on long-standing trade disputes with the United States. Budget 2025 offers a number of supports for the forestry sector, including a new biomass ITC that would now be retroactive to 2023, which would allow investments in plants that use residuals, making sawmills more economic…
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Madam Speaker, it is true that pipelines are the safest, most environmentally responsible way to move oil products, and they are also the cheapest way. There are a lot of benefits to them. Of course, if we are going to continue to build oil infrastructure, we need to do it in a way that is still consistent with our goals to be net zero in 2050, which is exactly what the Prime Minister has said. He…
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Madam Speaker, the budget implementation act would put this into law. It would enable the investments, the tax changes, the housing measures and the competitiveness strategy that budget 2025 lays out. We often talk in this chamber about the future, what kind of country we want to build, what kinds of opportunities we want to leave our children and how we can ensure that Canada remains strong, pros…
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Madam Speaker, the budget implementation act would allow us to put into action budget 2025, which is a budget built for the moment in which we find ourselves. Much has been said about this moment, but it is worth recapping. Our largest trade partner and the world's largest economy has turned its back on free trade; global conflicts are on the rise, and, of course, the world is now dealing with the…
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Madam Speaker, it is an excellent point. The reality is that finance is much more nuanced than that. Conversations about the size of a spend entirely miss the point if we are not talking about what is being spent. In the case of the CPP, which is the example that was put in front of me, it is not even a government investment; it is an investment made on behalf of all Canadians in their future. It …
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Mr. Speaker, forestry is core to our Canadian identity and the backbone of communities across Canada. This vital sector provides good jobs, drives local economies and keeps our towns and cities growing. Recently, during National Forest Week, the Forest Products Association of Canada held its annual national forest policy conference here in Ottawa. This conference brought together leaders in forest…
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Madam Speaker, we keep hearing about the Conservatives' deep concern for youth, but they continue to vote against any project or program that would support the youth of this country. They vote against it all. I would like, for once, to hear exactly what they would reduce in order to meet their absurd budget demands. Let us have a good budget and an affordable budget on November 4, and let us have …
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Madam Speaker, we have a generational budget coming on November 4. It is going to build on the successes of the past couple of months, successes that include, today, announcing billions in new investments in critical minerals and 20 deals with countries across the world. This is just going to build on that. This budget is exactly what is needed in this moment. I hope the Conservatives support it a…
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Madam Speaker, Canadians are rightly focused on the real issues. We face a dangerous and changing world, one that demands big responses. We are going to see big responses in the November 4 budget. We have already heard about many of the initiatives that are coming out of it. I hope the members opposite will support the budget, avoid a Christmas election and help Canada lead in the G7.
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Madam Speaker, the forest sector is core to our economy and core to our Canadian identity. My own family has been in the forest industry since long before Canada was a country. We will always stand with forest workers, and my heart goes out to the affected. U.S. tariffs and duties are completely unjustified. We know that. We are working at all levels to address it. In the meantime, we are also div…
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Mr. Speaker, we stand with affected communities and affected workers, and we have announced a number of supports: $50 million for workers; $700 million in liquidity supports, which are accessible through the banks that the mills are using right now; and $500 million of innovation to come. We know that this has been a very disruptive situation. This is a long-standing challenge with the United Stat…
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Mr. Speaker, we stand with B.C. communities. FPAC officials were in town this week with many industry leaders and many other governments. We meet with them, and we talked about what we could do in order to support them. I continue to work with the sector to make sure we are providing supports that are meeting the moment. I welcome the member opposite to provide those supports.
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Mr. Speaker, earlier this year, Kiwetinohk Energy, headquartered in Calgary, achieved a significant energy industry milestone with a new Canadian longest well record of almost 9,500 meters. That is almost 10 kilometres, and yes, members heard that right. The distance of 10 kilometres is the distance from the University of Calgary to the Glenmore Reservoir, the distance from Parliament Hill to the …
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is going across the world finding new trade deals and new markets for Canadian products, including forestry products. This is part of a diversification effort backed by $500 million that is going to support new markets and new innovations. We have supports for workers of $50 million, we have liquidity supports of $700 million, and we want to work with people to find…
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Mr. Speaker, the Canadian government is right there with Canadian workers and affected Canadian communities. We have announced $50 million in supports for workers, $700 million in liquidity support and $500 million to innovate both products and markets. We are more than happy to work with the members opposite if they have ideas to continue to support the forestry sector, but we have not heard any.
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Mr. Speaker, we have been very clear that the tariffs are unjustified. We are working at every level to address them. We have created $50 million in supports for workers. We have created $700 million in liquidity support for companies and $500 million for new markets and new innovations in this sector. We are going to continue to work to support the forestry sector, and we hope that the Conservati…
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Mr. Speaker, Canada does write its own story, and that is a story that includes buying Canadian and buying Canadian lumber to build Canadian homes. It is a story that includes $50 million in income supports for workers. It is a story that includes $700 million in liquidity support and $500 million for innovation in the forestry sector. This is a pretty good story, and I hope they will help us writ…
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Mr. Speaker, we will always stand with the workers and the affected communities, which is why we continue to invest and will do so in the future as well. There are significant difficulties with the long-standing softwood lumber dispute, but those are difficulties we are addressing head on. We are working at every level to challenge them. We are doing that with the support of the whole Canadian eco…
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Mr. Speaker, it does not feel very resolved. This is a long-standing challenge, but it is one that this government is going to be working to resolve by making significant investments in the future in the forestry sector, as well as by supporting the workers right now while we work toward a deal. Buy Canadian and Canadian procurement are significant parts of this component, which is why it is so im…
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Mr. Speaker, we stand with the workers in rural communities. Forestry is the heartbeat of Canadian rural life. It provides the roads, jobs and community spirit, and we are there with investments to protect workers who have lost their jobs, as well as with investments going forward. The government is also looking to use more Canadian lumber in more Canadian products, which is part of our build Cana…
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Mr. Speaker, globally, in the last 10 years, oil and gas production has increased by 6%. In Canada, it has increased by 34%. At the same time, we have reduced our emissions by 15%. The policies that the member opposite references have allowed our product to be competitive on the global market and open up new markets. This is how we make ourselves an energy superpower in both the conventional and r…
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Mr. Speaker, we should look at the comments from the Premier of Alberta. We should look at the comments from the Premier of Ontario. What we are seeing is a number of Conservative premiers who are very excited about our goals to make Canada an energy superpower, in both conventional and renewable energy. Regarding the workers at Imperial, my heart goes out to them. The reality of the situation is …
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