Amarjeet Sohi

[Natural Resources, February 1st, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are paying for the failure of a decade of Harper's government, which failed to build a single pipeline to get our resources to non-U.S. global markets. When the Conservatives came into office in 2006, 99% of Alberta oil was sold to one single customer, the United States. When they left in 2015, 99% of Alberta oil was still sold to a single customer, the U.S. That is how they failed to diversify Alberta's oil exports.

We are working hard on this project and at the same time exploring new markets.

[Natural Resources, February 1st, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, it is very disappointing to hear a member from Alberta who does not believe that getting our resources to non-U.S. markets by building pipeline capacity is necessary for jobs in Alberta in our energy sector. We are investing in this project, which is good for the Canadian economy. It is good for Alberta's economy. We owe it to Alberta workers, we owe it to energy sector workers throughout the country, to move forward on this project in the right way, with meaningful consultation with indigenous communities and at the same time making sure we are reducing the impact on the environment.

[Natural Resources, February 1st, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, the NEP review of marine shipping and its impact on the marine environment is under way, and the NEP is going to report to us on February 22. We have eight teams currently consulting in a meaningful two-way dialogue with indigenous peoples, something we owe indigenous peoples to make sure that their voices are heard and included in the decision-making, something the previous government failed to do. We are moving forward on this project in the right way, making sure it moves forward with proper consultation and looking after the environment.

[Natural Resources, February 1st, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians understand that we need to reduce our dependence when it comes to exporting our oil to the United States. We need to expand our global markets, and that is exactly what we are focused on. We are moving forward on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion in the right way, with meaningful consultation with indigenous peoples and at the same time making sure that we are looking after the environment. This is a project that is very important to the Canadian economy, but the only way to move forward on this is to make sure we respect indigenous peoples and we respect our environment.

[Natural Resources, January 29th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians understand that in order to continue to grow the economy and get our resources to non-U.S. markets, pipeline capacity is very, very important. We are moving forward on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion in a responsible way, in the right way, with meaningful consultation with indigenous communities and at the same time making sure that we are dealing with the impact of tanker traffic on the marine environment. We have eight teams currently consulting with indigenous communities, and the NEB is on track to provide a report on February 22. We are moving forward in the right way on this project.

[Natural Resources, January 29th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Calgary Centre for his hard work.

Last week we announced $15 billion of investment our government is making in the Suffield solar project in Alberta. This project will create 250 well-paying middle-class jobs during construction and power over 7,000 homes every year.

We are delivering on our plan to grow the economy and at the same time protect the environment.

[Questions on the Order Paper, January 28th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada has been committed to conducting GBA+ analysis on legislation, policies and programs since 1995. GBA+ plays an important role in the government’s domestic regulatory, program and policy development. Decisions on where to import crude oil from are private sector commercial decisions. As such, federal GBA+ analyses are not conducted on crude oil imports; however, many companies do conduct their own gender-based analyses.

[Natural Resources, December 13th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, we recognize the diversity of opinion among indigenous communities on how we develop and transport our resources. We are trying to fix a system that was broken in 2012 when the previous government brought in changes that gutted environmental regulations, destroyed the protection for water and fish, and took away the ability of Canadians to participate in the regulatory process.

We are putting a better system in place that allows good projects to move forward in a quicker way.

[Natural Resources, December 13th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I think only a disconnected politician would call EI a handout. It is an earned benefit that workers have fought to have.

We are proud of our record. In the last month, 36,500 new jobs were created in Alberta. That is a gain of 71,100 full-time jobs since 2015 in Alberta. Yes, we need to do more, and we will deliver more.

[Natural Resources, December 13th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, we have and always will stand with the energy sector and the Canadians who work in that sector. We have approved Enbridge Line 3, which will add more capacity to carry our oil to the U.S. We are moving forward with the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion in the right way, responding to the issues that OERD has identified. We are supporting Keystone XL. All this is being done at the same time as we are supporting workers in time of need through EI benefits.