News

Canadian natural resource development creates millions of jobs, provides revenue to all levels of government, and raises the standard of living for Canadians in every community. That’s particularly true of the energy sector, but Liberal policies risk the long-term future of Canadian oil and gas development.

Today, employees at the Vegreville Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Case Processing Centre were told the Liberals plan to shut it down and relocate it to a Crown owned property in downtown Edmonton. There are 280 employees at CPC Vegreville, a quarter of the student population are children of those employees and this decision may impact the jobs of 250 spouses.

WINNIPEG, MB--TransCanada has announced plans to suspend its application for the Energy East Pipeline Project, and indicated it may not proceed with the pipeline.

“The decision to suspend the review process for Energy East is yet another hit for workers and their families, who depend on energy jobs. It is a vital infrastructure and nation building project: it would actually tie together eastern and western Canada physically, economically, and symbolically,” said Shannon Stubbs, Member of Parliament for Lakeland and Official Opposition Shadow Minister of Natural Resources. “Pipelines and other energy projects have always undergone rigorous reviews. But the Liberals continue to put up roadblocks to pipelines, holding them to a completely different standard than any other infrastructure project in the country.”

Two Hills, AB—On August 30th, 2017, Andrew Scheer, Leader of the Official Opposition, announced the new Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet. Shannon Stubbs, Member of Parliament for Lakeland, was named Opposition Shadow Minister for Natural Resources.

“I am honoured to be given the opportunity to stand up for Canadians in a file that matters so much to the people I represent. Throughout the past two years, I have had the pleasure of working with two strong critics: Hon. Candice Bergen, MP for Portage—Lisgar, and Mark Strahl, MP for Chilliwack—Hope. They have both served Canadians well and I look forward to continuing the work we’ve done together,” said MP Stubbs.

OTTAWA, ON—Shannon Stubbs, the Member of Parliament for Lakeland and the Deputy Critic for Natural Resources questioned Natural Resources Minister, Jim Carr, at the Standing Committee on Natural Resources. Shannon Stubbs offered the following statement:  

“My Opposition colleagues and I asked very direct questions to the Minister. He deflected and refused to answer. He celebrated Canadian mining, forestry, but downplayed Canadian energy. I asked if he believes Canada produces the most environmentally and socially responsible oil and gas in the world. His response? That he is ‘not in a position to know what metrics [are being referred to] to say that it’s the most or the best.’ How can energy workers, scientists and innovators, who have made Canada a competitive and global energy leader, trust a Minister who won’t stand up for their successes and their jobs, and doesn’t seem to know the facts?

Today the Liberal government voted against an Opposition proposal that would require all-party support for recommendations to overhaul the rules of Parliament.

By doing so the Liberal government has confirmed its intention to run roughshod over the Opposition’s rights to hold the Government to account. This is truly regrettable.

OTTAWA – In a report tabled in the House last week, Conservative Members of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources, Mark Strahl, MP for Chilliwack-Hope and Critic for Natural Resources, Shannon Stubbs, MP for Lakeland and Deputy Critic for Natural Resources and John Barlow, MP for Foothills called on the Minister of Natural Resources to take action on a number of urgent concerns facing Canada’s mining sector.

OTTAWA—Conservative Official Opposition Leader, Rona Ambrose, questioned the Liberals’ deliberate attack on rural Canadians during Question Period today.

“Older, smaller, and poorer are not my words. They are the words of the mayor of Vegreville about the fate that awaits the town if the Liberals close the immigration centre. He warns of a crash in home values and an exodus of students and young people. It will be a devastating blow to the people and the future of this small community,” said Ambrose. “The mayor said ‘This is exactly the opposite of what the government promised to do for rural Canada in the last election.’ Why is the Prime Minister attacking rural Canada?”

On Monday, Members of Parliament from coast to coast to coast returned to Ottawa from a 6 week constituency break. Shannon Stubbs, Member of Parliament for Lakeland and the Official Opposition’s Deputy Critic for Natural Resources, says Canadians can expect little change from the Liberals.

“Canadians have been confronted with a year of cash-for-access scandals, out of control spending, and more, higher taxes. To kick-off 2017, Canada’s Ethics Commissioner will question the Prime Minister on his cash-for-access fundraisers where special interest groups paid for meetings to discuss government business. This is the first time ever that a sitting Prime Minister will be questioned for his unethical behavior by the Ethics Commissioner. It is ridiculous,” said Stubbs.

Today, the President of the United States signed an executive order approving Trans Canada’s Keystone XL Pipeline.

“Today’s announcement from Washington is great news for Albertans, and for all Canadians. Keystone XL will increase export capacity into the US, create thousands of jobs for Canadians in oil and gas, and manufacturing, and finally provide workers and proponents some certainty,” said Shannon Stubbs, MP for Lakeland and Official Opposition Deputy Critic for Natural Resources. “This approval of responsible energy transportation infrastructure will increase export capacities to Canada’s #1 oil and gas customer, diversify Canadian energy export markets, and expand the customer base for Canadian energy around the world.”