QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Environment and Climate Change
Bay du Nord Development Project
March 3, 2022
Welcome, minister. Minister, the Bay du Nord offshore petroleum development project is vital to the economy and future of Newfoundland and Labrador. This project will produce 200,000 barrels of oil per day and has an initial lifespan of 30 years with the first production targeted in 2028. The construction phase will employ thousands of specialized workers and this will put billions of dollars into the economy of Newfoundland and Labrador and Canada.
Minister, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada was created and touted by your government as a way forward for future environmental impact assessments and to make decisions based on science. This was the essence of Bill C-69 passed in 2019 in a previous session of Parliament. The Bay du Nord project has been assessed for almost four years. The agency has recommended the project for approval and they stated that it “. . . is not likely to cause significant adverse . . . effects . . . .”
The project proponent has committed to being a world-leading, ESG-focused producer for this project and will have some of the lowest emissions of any energy project in the world. My question is simple: Will the government commit to following science and not politics and approve the Bay du Nord project as recommended by the Impact Assessment Agency, as the deadline, which is this Sunday, approaches?
Thank you, senator. As you pointed out, the Impact Assessment Agency has submitted to me, the minister, its recommendations. I would like to correct one thing you said. As you probably know, this project was evaluated under the Harper government impact assessment, also referred to as CEAA 2012, and not under the new and improved regime that we’ve put in place with Bill C-69. That being said, it is being reviewed by me and the cabinet.
I would like to say that our government has been unwavering in our commitment to support energy workers in Canada and to work with Newfoundland and Labrador specifically. For example, we could talk about the Lower Churchill Project, which will provide Newfoundlanders and Labradorians with clean energy for decades to come. To our investment in offshore emission reduction fund, to help offshore workers and businesses lower their emissions from their operation —
My question is simple. Will this be approved as per science, not as per politics? I was hoping to get an answer to that question, whether it was “yes” or “no.”
I have a supplementary question for this, minister: While Canada and much of the world is correctly closing its ports and markets to Russian oil and gas, do you agree that this is an ideal opportunity to promote responsibly produced Canadian oil and gas, including the Bay du Nord project to world markets?
Thank you for the question. I think there are a number of things we can do to help our European colleagues that are going through this period of crisis and, more specifically, the people and the government of Ukraine. We’re doing just that.
There is clearly a crisis in Ukraine, which doesn’t mean that other crises are necessarily erased by it, such as the climate crisis. The world is moving toward a more decarbonized world and Canada is aligned with the world on that. We will continue to move toward decarbonization, but we will also help our European and Ukrainian friends.
