Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, I would like to express my appreciation to the honourable Member for travelling with me to Calgary.
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MLA Ramsay for travelling to Calgary with me. It reinforced to the oil and gas industry executives the importance that this government places on the Mackenzie Gas Pipeline project. I think this is a very important question, because I am getting concerned that too many people think that this pipeline is a sure thing now that the Joint Review Panel report has been released. It is an important step, but there is another important step which is the fiscal arrangements. I often refer to what the United States government is doing. The United States government has given unequivocal support to the Alaska Pipeline. They have passed bills providing loan guarantees up to $40 billion for the Alaska Pipeline. It is supported right up to the White House. President Barack Obama has indicated that he likes the jobs, he likes the benefits from the Alaska Pipeline and also the safe, secure supply of Arctic natural gas. So our government has provided qualified support. Our Canadian government has indicated that it supports the project subject to an environmental review, subject to the regulatory
review and subject to fiscal arrangements yet to be negotiated.
Minister Prentice before, early in 2009, said he would have a fiscal arrangement in place before the Joint Review Panel report was released. In December he said he didn’t have a deal and that he didn’t know when he would have the deal and that he would be continuing to work with the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline proponents.
So I still firmly believe that this project is very important to Canada and I believe that Canada will see it in the same way. I think that the Mackenzie Pipeline project can be a legacy to this federal government and that the negotiations are continuing. There is a Throne speech that will be coming out in March and we’re still very optimistic that the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline will receive approval.