Senate QP: Frustrated as an Albertan

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Following the swearing-in of five new senators, Senate QP got underway with special guest star, natural resources minister Amarjeet Sohi. Senator Larry Smith led off, asking about the Trans Mountain pipeline and research around diluted bitumen spills and the federal response. Sohi responded with a bit of a roundabout recap of the Federal Court of Appeal decision and the lack of marine considerations with the original NEB report, and now they were filling in that gap – but didn’t really respond to the question. Smith asked how this research played into the tanker ban on the northwest coast of BC. Sohi noted the ban didn’t apply to Trans Mountain, but that it was in place on the northern coast because of the lack on infrastructure there to deal with a spill, but natural gas from LNG was a different matter.

Senator Neufeld worried about low prices for natural gas versus high carbon prices, and Sohi reminded him that climate change is real and causing damage to coastal communities and forests, with billions of dollars in costs, meaning it was irresponsible for any government to ignore those costs, which is why they gave provinces the flexibility to price pollution in a way that makes sense to them, and cited the success of BC’s model.

Senator Day started asking about reviving the Energy East pipeline, before veering into steel and aluminium tariffs and softwood lumber duties, which seemed to be the question. Sohi started off by praising the good news of the New NAFTA, before assuring him that they would defend workers.

Senator McPhedran asked about gender-based analysis for project approvals and how things like daycare being provided at resource project worksites can attract more women to the workforce. Sohi relayed a story about how one woman from an Indigenous community started off as a truck driver and soon there were thirty other women from her community who got those jobs and were lifted out of poverty.

Senator Griffin asked about the recent IPCC report on climate change, and the risk to permafrost and the boreal forests, impacting resource projects, not to mention coastal erosion, and wanted more information about what the department was doing to address the problem. Sohi related how when he was at infrastructure, they applied a climate lens to approvals, and that they have a DM-level committee to look at the impact of climate change on the forestry sector, and that they could not ignore the impact of climate change.

Senator Mockler wanted Energy East to be revived, to which Sohi said that if the proponent submits a proposal, they would evaluate it, before he expressed his frustration as an Albertan with the discount on oil prices, which is why they were doing pipeline projects in the right way, by listening to the concerns of Indigenous communities and accommodating them where possible.

Senator Batters lambasted C-69 as intruding on matters of provincial jurisdiction, and accusing Sohi of not standing up for Alberta or the energy industry. Sohi said that the current system is not working, as demonstrated by having two pipeline approvals quashed by the courts, which is why they are trying to get it right.

Senator Gálvez returned to the IPCC report, and how the purchase of the Trans Mountain pipeline would get Canada to meeting its GHG targets. Sohi reminded her that Alberta put a hard cap on emissions and the pipeline remained below that level, and that they are also doing things like phasing out coal-fired electricity.

Senator Simons asked about language in Bill C-69 around downstream emissions and the duty to to consult. Sohi said that downstream emissions would not be part of any assessment and it was not actually in the bill, whereas the duty to consult, it was not open ended but allowed for proper dialogue, but didn’t have a timeline to as to make it look like any consultation was without meaning.

Overall, it wasn’t the most edifying day, in part because Sohi is a bit of a slow-talker, and because he has a tendency to veer into anecdote over policy. While he did offer some responses in some of the questions, in others there was very little response to what was being asked. Mind you, some of the questions were a bit meandering in and of themselves, which probably didn’t help matters. It was also cool to see Senator Paula Simons asking a question on her first day on the job, noting that she also used to grill Sohi during his time on city council while she was a columnist at the Edmonton Journal.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Senator Josée Verner for a black pinstripe suit with a white top, and to Senator Peter Harder for a dark grey three-piece suit with a white and black striped shirt and a grey striped tie. Style citations go out to Senator Richard Neufeld for a black suit with a pink shirt with a white collar and cuffs with a burgundy tie, and to Senator Marie-Françoise Mégie for a black turtleneck and slacks with a black jacket with loud pink florals.