Economic prosperity must include resource extraction: Tories

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OTTAWA — As world leaders convene in Canada’s oil country for the G7, the Conservatives are urging the government to include western Canadian energy in their plans to boost our country’s economy.

Speaking during question period on Monday, Deputy Opposition Leader Melissa Lantsman decried Liberal policies meant to keep Alberta’s oil in the ground.

“We’ve got laws blocking extraction, a cap that halts production, a shipping ban that stops it from leaving and an industrial carbon tax that makes it all more expensive to build,” she said in the House of Commons.

“Will the Liberals repeal out anti-energy laws and approve projects so that we can get jobs for our people and our resources to market?”

In a one-sentence response, Energy Minister Tim Hodgson ducked the question by promising to quickly pass Bill C-5, which the government says will fast-track major infrastructure projects.

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Canada’s allies have frequently asked — and are frequently denied — greater access to Canadian energy as means of replacing Russian oil and natural gas.

And with the United States becoming an increasingly unreliable partner, many observers are urging Canada to look to other markets to sell our energy.

As well, Canada’s production, transportation and export infrastructure is woefully undersized.

“As the G7 begins, the world may find out what Canadians have known for years: That the Liberal laws still in place make it nearly impossible to get anything built,” Lantsman said.

“Everyone knows the laws are broken and we need to exempt projects …, so why not just repeal the laws, period?”

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
X: @bryanpassifiume