BY BOB ZIMMER
Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies MP
During the final Question Period before the Christmas break, the federal government was asked by a colleague of mine why they weren’t standing up for our LNG sector.
Their answer: “We have strong measures in place to attract investment…” Attract investment?
The fact is businesses are leaving Canada because of this Liberal government’s policies of tax hikes and harmful regulations.
The announcement at the end of October by Encana that it would be moving its headquarters to the United States and changing its name to Ovintiv Inc. is just one example of how the Liberals’ anti-energy policies have not only damaged our economy, but also our reputation as a global leader in the energy sector.
Investment in plant and equipment by Canadian businesses has also fallen by 20 per cent over the past five years, the worst performance in more than five decades, and foreign direct investment into Canada has fallen by 56 per cent since this government came to power.
Since 2017, over $100 billion of investment in the energy sector has been cancelled, including the $35 billion Pacific Northwest LNG project, the $28 billion Aurora LNG project, and the $15 billion Grassy Point LNG project.
Far from attracting investment, this government seems bent on making Canada unattractive. From imposing an oil tanker ban and an arbitrary moratorium on oil and gas development in the Arctic, to the carbon tax, and the ‘no more pipelines’ Bill C-69, their policies have damaged investor confidence and forced companies to reconsider future projects.
What we need is a national vision for our country, our citizens and our plentiful resources.
At a time when this government is seeing declines in our energy sector, we should be championing our natural resources so that Canadians, and the world, can benefit from our hard work in cutting edge technology that reduces global emissions while supplying the world with our environmentally and socially responsible natural resources.
I believe in a vision for more Canada, not less, and that vision needs to start right here in Ottawa.