News

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.”

Ottawa, ON—On Tuesday, Prime Minister Trudeau and senior Cabinet Ministers announced the political approval of two pipelines, Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain and Line 3, while rejecting the application for Northern Gateway.  

 “While I welcome the approval of both Trans Mountain and Line 3 expansion projects, there’s still no indication when, or if, these pipelines will actually get done. There is still a long road ahead for Canada,” said MP Stubbs. “The Liberals need to champion these critical infrastructure projects, and work with proponents to ensure the conditions aren’t permanent roadblocks, in order to create jobs and to get Canadian energy to market.”

OTTAWA—On Friday, during a town hall meeting in Peterborough, Ontario, Prime Minister Trudeau admitted his intention to phase out Canadian oil sands development. 

"You can't make a choice between what's good for the environment and what's good for the economy. We can't shut down the oil sands tomorrow, we need to phase them out," said Trudeau. "We need to manage the transition off of our dependence on fossil fuels. That is going to take time and in the meantime, we have to manage that transition."

Ottawa, ON – During an event with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities last week, Minister of Finance Bill Morneau said small, rural communities may not benefit from their new infrastructure plan.

“Small municipalities won't see much- if any- benefit from the federal government's proposed new infrastructure bank,” said Minister Morneau. “Global institutional investors will be looking to invest only in large transformational projects. It is unlikely they’ll want to sink money into roads and bridges in small communities.”

Ottawa, ON—Last week, the Minister of Natural Resources said the Keystone XL pipeline project is "not a priority" for the federal Liberal government. Shannon Stubbs, MP for Lakeland, pressed the Minister in the House of Commons on Friday for answers. 

 “Thousands of Albertans are out of work and have been for over a year, and not one additional full-time job has been created in Canada under the Liberals in that same time. Meanwhile, the U.S. President-elect said he will approve Keystone XL within 100 days of taking office, but our Minister of Natural Resources says it is ‘not a priority,’” questioned Stubbs.