Official Hansard
Mr. Speaker, given that no one else wants to stand up, I am more than happy to share some thoughts in regard to the estimates. Let me start off by providing comments, because we have heard them from Conservative after Conservative. Quite frankly, I am very disappointed that the Conservatives want to play the political corruption game when, in fact, they cannot substantiate it. Rather, they put on tin hats and start conspiracy theories. At the end of the day, take a look in terms of the opportunity that is before Canada. The Prime Minister has made it very clear that as a nation, we want to build a stronger and healthier economy, as I said earlier today. If we were to take a look at our aerospace industry, we would see, in many ways, that the Government of Canada has recognized how important that industry is, and has directly and indirectly supported it. Take a look in terms of what the actual results have been and the types of things we are talking about. Do members want to talk about the space industry and its potential? Take a look at what is happening in some European countries as they have recognized the value of looking at the space industry and how much that has impacted their economies. I believe that we can have a space agency and an aerospace industry that can work hand in hand and ultimately build a stronger, healthier country, because when we talk about direct and indirect jobs going into the future, some have estimated that there will be over 200,000 good-quality jobs. These are the types of initiatives we should be taking a serious look at, as the government is doing. It is not only looking but also taking tangible actions. If we talk about the launch pad that is being, if I can say— Some hon. members: Say it. Hon. Kevin Lamoureux: Mr. Speaker, I want to make sure my words are parliamentary. If we talk about the launch pad that is being put down by the Conservative Party, let us be very clear. I made the statement earlier, when I put a question to the previous speaker, that we have the Progressive Conservative Premier of Nova Scotia as one of the biggest advocates for this particular project. As I said in my question, he is not a Liberal, yet the Conservative Party has a narrative that it wants to stick to no matter what. They do not let the facts get in the way or enable economic opportunities for the province of Nova Scotia, and it is not just Nova Scotia that will benefit from this project. When I look at it, having this world-class launch site located in Nova Scotia, it is the right place to locate it. An hon. member: It’s a parking lot. Hon. Kevin Lamoureux: No, Mr. Speaker, it is not a parking lot. Members need to understand what is being proposed. This $200 million is not just for the raw land, which is the impression the Conservatives try to give people. It includes the infrastructure, building a launch pad that is going to elevate Canada’s status so that other countries in the world will look to Canada as a way to get their satellites into orbit. It is about sovereignty. Do members support Canadian sovereignty? Do members believe that Elon Musk should have the priority to say, “No, I have other things that I have to launch that are more important than what Canada wants to launch, so I am going to stick with those?” Are the Conservatives prepared to surrender our sovereignty on space and satellites to Elon Musk? That is what it sounds like, because what is their answer? They are not talking about an alternative or giving criticism in terms of why it is that Canada should not have a space launch pad. I like the idea. Come to Winnipeg and take the tour of Magellan Aerospace. There are first-class, hard workers of all different ethnic groups who are, in fact, working there every day of the week, and they are building Manitoba’s aerospace industry. There is a very strong space component to it. Members can see that in the city of Winnipeg, we are manufacturing satellites. We have satellites that were manufactured in Winnipeg that are circling in orbit today. They are there. It is real. It means jobs. I can tell members that every member of the national Liberal caucus understands the value of having a launch pad in Nova Scotia. I say shame on my colleagues across the way who do not support the initiative of having it in Nova Scotia. An hon. member: How about Manitoba? Hon. Kevin Lamoureux: Mr. Speaker, Manitoba has opportunities, but there is no ocean beside Manitoba. An hon. member: Oh, oh! Hon. Kevin Lamoureux: Mr. Speaker, we finally have a government that is actually looking at expanding the port of Churchill, and there are opportunities there, possibly for rockets. Maybe we can talk about that. I do not want to talk too much about it, because the Conservatives will start criticizing it. There are all sorts of opportunities within our aerospace industry. In terms of Nova Scotia, I know my colleagues understand the true value and the investments that the government is putting into our aerospace industry and our space industry. We can think of it in terms of our military’s having the capability to work through contracts to have a satellite, and the Canadian government’s being able to say, “Okay, this satellite is a priority and is going to be launched.” That is what sovereignty in space is about. It allows the national government to not have to rely on other governments, or on Elon Musk, in order to launch a Canadian satellite or to put things into orbit. Why would the Conservatives not join the Progressive Conservative Premier of Nova Scotia? By the way, the Government of Nova Scotia has actually approved the location. An hon. member: Oh, oh! Hon. Kevin Lamoureux: Mr. Speaker, one member said that it is a bad location. The provincial government does not seem to think that. It is just the federal Conservatives who want to dump on the province of Nova Scotia, it would appear. We can look at what we have done over the last year, with a new government of just over a year and a new Prime Minister, in terms of what we have actually brought through: budgetary measures, supporting our space agency and our aerospace industry, and things like investing in our Canadian Forces, for which we hit 2% funding before the end of last year. The current leader of the Conservative Party sat around the cabinet table when the Conservatives could not even get 1%, yet we got 2% before the end of the year, within months of the last federal election. Whether it is those budgetary measures or it is legislative measures, we have already introduced to the House of Commons the measures necessary to ensure that we can move forward with the launch pad. Conservatives voted against it, unfortunately, but the point is that it has already been moved, and we are moving forward. Despite the opposition we are getting on this initiative, we will continue to move forward with it, because it is the right thing to do. We could apply that principle to many aspects of the budget. We are talking about the main estimates, the business of supply, and there are a number of initiatives within the budget that I truly wish the Conservatives would reverse their attitude on. As opposed to looking at the glass as always half empty, there is another way of looking at it. In other words, have a positive attitude. It does not hurt. Members can still be party of an opposition party and have a positive attitude, which is lacking from the Conservative Party. Let us take a look at major projects as an example. Yes, the space launch site is going to cost money, but I believe the investment will pay off in great dividends, not only in terms of sovereignty but also in jobs and so many other things, including benefits for our aerospace and space agencies. There are many other things through major projects that will have an equally very positive outcome for Canadians, virtually from coast to coast to coast. Earlier today, as an example, I talked about the potential of wind and current energies in Atlantic Canada. The federal government is investing in energy development in Atlantic Canada today through major projects. Earlier today I talked about the port of Montreal and the potential of the port not only to create thousands of jobs for the city of Montreal and the people of Quebec but also to increase the opportunity for us to export. That will have opportunities for all of Canada. Earlier today I made reference to the province of Ontario and major projects. The first one that comes to my mind is in the area of nuclear energy opportunities. The Prime Minister talks about making Canada an energy superpower, and we are serious about that. We are dead serious on the issue. We recognize the issue of sustainable development, and that is why we continue to work with provinces, indigenous communities, municipalities and the many other stakeholders. We realize that for these megaprojects to work, we need to appreciate and understand the importance of sustainable development. Nuclear energy is something very real and tangible, and through major projects, the Prime Minister and the government are getting behind it. There are other countries around the world that are looking at nuclear energy, and Canada has a role to play in that. I cited the Philippines as an example. There are discussions that are ongoing with Canada, particularly with the Province of Ontario and Ontario Hydro, from what I understand, in terms of how they can take advantage of the expertise that Canada has to offer on nuclear energy. Let us move on from Ontario to Manitoba. Whether it is mining or the port of Churchill, for the first time in Manitoba, we have an alignment to have the port of Churchill developed and be able to export all forms of different products, from the potential of LNG to some minerals that are being mined and to other types of exports. These are the types—
