The Honourable Keith Ashfield
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans
Minister of Atlantic Gateway
April 2, 2013
Saint John, New Brunswick
Speaking Notes:
Good morning ladies and gentlemen.
Bonjours, Mesdames et Messieurs
I am pleased to be joined today by Premier Alward, Saint John Member of Parliament Rodney Weston, New Brunswick Southwest Member of Parliament John Williamson, Fundy-Royal Member of Parliament Rob Moore, Hon. Blaine Higgs, Hon. Trevor Holder, Hon. Dorothy Shephard, Hon. Ted Flemming, Carl Killen MLA, Glen Savoie MLA, Glen Tait MLA, Representatives from Irving Oil, Andrew Dawson, and, most importantly, so many New Brunswick workers who would benefit from the potential plan we all hope will follow today's news.
I know we were all pleased to hear today's news that TransCanada has determined there is sufficient market support to proceed to a binding open season for its mainline pipeline conversion and extension. This is encouraging news for families and communities right here in New Brunswick and across Canada.
Subject to regulatory approval, it represents a positive step in advancing the construction of important energy infrastructure that would transport Canadian oil from the West to the East.
Our government welcomes such proposals because they can generate thousands of high-quality Canadian jobs and long-term economic prosperity - particularly in Quebec and the Maritimes - for generations to come.
Over the past six months, my colleague the Minister for Natural Resources, Joe Oliver, has visited refineries across this region - including the Ultramar refinery in Levis, Quebec, and right here at Irving Oil in Saint John.
He has been doing this to show our government's support for Canadian refineries to process substantially more Canadian oil, generating Canadian jobs and making our country less reliant on more expensive foreign oil.
Because of a lack of pipeline capacity, Canadian oil is selling at a considerable discount compared to the international price. Indeed, some $50 million dollars every day is lost to the Canadian economy.
$50 million dollars lost to the Canadian economy every day also translates to a significant loss of potential tax revenue to the government. That means billions of dollars less every year to governments to fund critical social programs like health care and education.
Furthermore, 99% of Canada's crude oil and 100% of our natural gas exports go to the US. Yet the US has discovered massive reserves of shale gas and tight oil, so that its demand will likely decline significantly.
To preserve and grow Canadian jobs and tax revenues for social programs, we must be able to transport our resources in a way that will diversify our markets to the fastest growing economies in the world.
Global energy demand is expected to increase by 36% from 2010 to 2035 and Canada is well positioned to support that demand. But without the infrastructure to move the product to market, our oil will be stranded and our legacy lost.
Canadians want to see positive benefits that would come from transporting Canadian oil from west to east, and that is what we are aggressively working to deliver.
It is the government's role to ensure a favourable business climate for the economy to grow in a responsible way. To do this, our government is keeping taxes low, ensuring a streamlined and strong regulatory system is in place and strengthening Canada's relationships with growing energy markets abroad.
For example, India is now the third largest consumer of energy in the world their government has confirmed that demand for energy is already greater than the country can supply - that the gap will continue to grow.
Countries like India are looking to Canada's east coast, which is closer to India than anywhere in North-America.
Part of our government's commitment to Atlantic Canada has been in the development of the Atlantic Gateway. And, as Minister of the Atlantic Gateway, I believe strongly that Atlantic Canada is uniquely positioned to capture this kind of increased business.
Atlantic Canada has a modern, competitive and integrated transportation system. In fact, Canada's Atlantic Gateway is the shortest maritime route between North America's East Coast and markets in Europe and Asia.
Through Federal and Provincial infrastructure investments, our government has been proud to support the development of this important hub and, in turn, the industries that drive our economy.
Today's news is an encouraging step forward, subject to economic considerations and an objective, science-based regulatory review to make sure it is safe for the environment and safe for Canadians.
In fact, our government is facilitating more effective environmental reviews by imposing timelines and moving to a one project one review approach.
We are delivering new environmental protections including doubling the number of annual pipeline audits, increasing pipeline inspections by 50% and introducing new fines that ensure polluters pay.
Connecting Canadians from West to East is an inclusive idea that dates back to our beginnings as a country.
A West to East pipeline would be among the most expansive and ambitious stretches of energy infrastructure in the entire world and would contribute to the energy security of Canada and all of North America – and we are doing it in a responsible way.
I am pleased about today's news from TransCanada and excited for the possibly of the next steps in this process.
Thank you.
