75-Minute Debate (30 November 2023)

From Hansard (30 November 2023)

 

Provincial Response to Federal Energy Policies

The Assembly was debating the following motion moved by Travis Keisig (Sask Party - Last Mountain-Touchwood):

That this Assembly calls upon the Government of Saskatchewan to continue with the broad efforts and years of government advocacy work which led to The Saskatchewan First Act, which will stand up for and assert Saskatchewan’s exclusive provincial jurisdiction over nonrenewable natural resources and the operation of sites and facilities for electrical energy production and generation; and further,

That this Assembly condemns the Liberal-NDP federal government’s proposed clean energy regulations, oil and gas cap, and the federal fuel standard as unconstitutional, uneconomical, and a clear violation of provincial rights.

Mr. Jenson: — Thank you very much, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I’m so happy to be able to enter into this debate on a motion that my colleague from Last Mountain-Touchwood described so well in his remarks.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Saskatchewan people and increasingly more and more Canadians as a whole are fed up. They’re fed up with the Liberal-NDP coalition that is Justin Trudeau and Jagmeet Singh. People I talk to are fed up with all the ideologically driven legislation, policies, and regulations coming from Ottawa without consideration for the ramifications for our economy, and just as importantly the cost to individuals and families across our province. After all, it was our Prime Minister who himself asked for forgiveness because he doesn’t think about fiscal policy. And he still thinks the budget is going to balance itself.

We’ve seen the utter incompetence of the federal government on display pretty much every day. But you know things are getting bad and they’re only getting worse, Mr. Deputy Speaker, when one looks at the country’s credit card. It’s been used so much that the numbers are worn right off, the magnetic strip is gone, and the microchip is begging for mercy. Mr. Deputy Speaker, it gets worse. The printing press is almost out of ink and the mill is quickly running out of paper.

The federal coalition has all but maxed out the country’s credit card and the presses are running nearly dry but they’re not going to stop there. Trudeau and Singh have had their hands in the back pockets of Canadians for a while now. And while the printing press is drying up, they are now reaching into wallets and purses of Canadians, not with one hand but with both, to pay for their patently unachievable schemes.

The federal government is pursuing an ideological dream without any consideration for the inflationary hurt and mental anguish it’s causing people in our province as well as those across the country. I point no further than to the federal government’s proposed clean electricity regulations, or CER. It’s simply not achievable to rely on renewables such as wind and solar for baseload power. And if small modular reactors are found to be the most reliable and effective baseload power solution, we cannot possibly have that capacity built out in time for the unilaterally imposed deadline of net zero electricity generation by 2035.

A bridge, Mr. Deputy Speaker, is needed to get us to 2050, but it appears the federal government is wilfully blind to having that discussion. Mr. Guilbeault has demonstrated time and time again that it’s full steam ahead regardless of the consequences, and Justin and Jagmeet are right there on each side supporting him.

As a government we’re not going to put the personal safety of our residents at risk — especially in the cold, dark, and mostly windless winter months — in order to satisfy the fantasy of net zero electrical generation in such a short time, a fantasy that industry experts have concluded is unattainable and unaffordable in Saskatchewan before the federally imposed date of 2035 and, in the case of coal-produced electricity, 2030.

To that end our government is committed to running our traditional coal and natural gas plants to the end of their respective lifetimes, while an alternative such as small modular reactors . . . until that time that they can be successfully developed and deployed, if that is what is chosen.

If an increasing carbon tax combined with a second carbon tax, known as the clean fuel standard, and the proposed clean electricity regulations aren’t enough, we’re now learning that the madness in Ottawa isn’t stopping there. Now the coalition of Trudeau and Singh are prepared to implement an oil and gas emissions cap on producers. Mr. Deputy Speaker, we’ve seen this movie before and it doesn’t end well for anyone.

The federal Liberals and NDP widened the carbon tax goalposts with per-tonne charges that were initially capped, but then uncapped and increased, and then increased again and again. It started at $20 a tonne and Canadians were promised it wouldn’t go above $50. As of now it’s $65, and by the end of 2030 it’s scheduled to hit $170. And there’s no telling how high it will go after that.

I’d say it’s funny how the Liberals’ carbon tax increases work, but honestly it’s no laughing matter, and we all face inflation and high interest rates. And economists have pointed to the carbon tax as a prominent driver of that inflation that we are seeing in everything we buy.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Christmas is just under a month away. People need to remember that while there may be no carbon tax showing up on that receipt at the store, they need to remember it’s been paid multiple times in the supply chain and it’s built into the prices.

The best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour, and there’s no reason to believe that any Liberal-NDP oil and gas emissions cap won’t be the first dagger in their quest to totally eliminate exploration and production of oil and gas in our province or any other place in our country.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, as the motion says, all of these current and proposed pieces of legislation and policy are simply unconstitutional, uneconomical, and a clear violation of provincial rights under sections 92 and 92A of the Constitution. It’s our job as a provincial government, Mr. Deputy Speaker, to ensure that the people of Saskatchewan are protected from overreach into provincial items of jurisdiction.

While sections 92 and 92A protect the province’s authority over exploration, production, and export of non-renewable natural resources and other things, the federal Liberal-NDP government has made it clear to all Canadians that they’ll put their flawed ideology and impossible deadlines ahead of guaranteeing a secure source of power and heat.

In other words, the federal government doesn’t care how much money net zero electrical generation by 2035 will cost or the toll it will take on society. We know this based on their lack of fiscal policy and their unwillingness to be pragmatic to the realities of what can and should be done. The feds continue to insist the provinces should be subservient, that the universal top-down approach is the only way, no matter the economic suffering it will cause to the people and industries across our great nation.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, we think that approach taken by the federal coalition in Ottawa is completely irresponsible and weakens Confederation as a whole. It’s been said before by several of my colleagues, but it’s worth repeating again: a strong Saskatchewan means a strong Canada.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, this is why our government responded to the federal overreach by passing The Saskatchewan First Act in March of this year. It’s also worth noting as well that at least a couple of the members opposite saw the light, albeit temporarily, with the need for Saskatchewan to assert its constitutional rights over power production. Comments like this one from December 3rd of last year from the member from Regina Douglas Park:

The Saskatchewan NDP absolutely believes we should be standing up for Saskatchewan at the federal level. We need to be ensuring that we’re getting the best deal for this province.

And then there’s this one from the member from Regina University, who I can hear talking over there, just a couple months later on February 1st: “Ottawa needs to stop unilaterally implementing policies without working with the province, communities, and workers.”

But as we’ve seen before, Mr. Deputy Speaker, the NDP weren’t satisfied with motoring down the road on the same road as the government on four perfectly inflated tires. Inexplicably but not surprisingly, that opposition punctured the front tires and loosened the lug nuts on the rear ones and voted against The Saskatchewan First Act. So much for the members opposite wanting to stand up for Saskatchewan people or making our province’s best interests our first and foremost.

Apparently standing up to federal overreach into provincial jurisdiction took a back seat to the demands from their federal leader to toe the party line. Now the opposition may put on a brave face from time to time as they say they stand with the people of our province, but Jagmeet Singh won’t even answer the opposition’s phone calls. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if their emails to Jagmeet and Justin go straight to junk mail either.

Which brings us to where we are today, Mr. Speaker. Just this week the tribunal that forms part of The Saskatchewan First Act was announced by the Minister of Justice, and we were graced by the presence of some of these very knowledgeable individuals who are so highly respected in their fields of work. And we know that they’re going to do great work on behalf of the people of Saskatchewan.

The Act is needed more than ever, and you need to look no further into the recent events to see that the tide is turning. The court struck down the federal government’s labelling of all plastics as toxic in order to mandate the elimination of all singleuse plastics. We’ve seen C-69 struck down at the Supreme Court. This is why The Saskatchewan First Act was created, passed, and put into force on September 15th of this year.

It’s taken 90 years, Mr. Deputy Speaker, to build our power grid in this province. It’s a power grid that every individual, every business, and every hospital, school, and daycare home, personal care homes, long-term care homes rely on for heating and cooling, lights, and power for sustenance and the generation of wealth.

And, Mr. Deputy Speaker, thank goodness for The Saskatchewan First Act and the tribunal doing the work on behalf of the people of this province. Our predecessors possessed the strength, the wisdom, and the know-how to build our province’s reliable and cost-effective electrical utility.

Today our government possesses the vision, the courage, and the determination to ensure that our power grid, this essential piece of critical infrastructure, not to mention our economy and our personal well-being of every individual in this great province, is protected for the people that rely on it every day. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Ms. A. Young: — Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. So I’d like put this question to the member from Martensville-Warman. I read some of his remarks back into the record, and he said, “while the printing press is drying up, they are now reaching into wallets and purses of Canadians, not with one hand but with both, to pay for their patently unachievable schemes.”

Mr. Deputy Speaker, the member from Martensville-Warman, when he’s talking about running up the debt and not being in touch with the needs of everyday people, was he talking about Chrystia Freeland, or was he talking about Saskatchewan’s Minister of Finance?

Mr. Jenson: — Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I’ve got two words for the answer for the member opposite: Chrystia Freeland. Absolutely. Both hands, along with Jagmeet and along with Justin and along with Guilbeault. They are all going after Canadians’ money more than ever before.

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