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| MLA Jennifer Rice on the Trans Mountain Pipeline at the Leg on Monday |
"If only we could find a way to harness the energy of the hot air coming from the official opposition, we'd solve British Columbia's energy prices in a day." -- North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice taking part in discussion of Liberal sponsored energy related Private member's energy motion on Monday.
North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice spoke to a Private Member's motion during Monday mornings Legislature session, taking the Liberal opposition to task over their running commentary on themes of the Trans Mountain Pipeline discussion.
Speaking shortly after 11 AM to a private Members' Motion moved forward by MLA Peter Milobar related to the Trans Mountain Pipeline and Fuel and Supply Prices in the province, Ms. Rice challenged the Liberals recent narratives on energy, starting with the belief that the twinning of the Trans Mountain would have an impact on British Columbia pricing.
There's no evidence that twinning the Trans Mountain pipeline will lower gas prices in our province. There is evidence, however, that Alberta has reached maximum capacity in their refineries. This pipeline expansion is intended for carrying diluted bitumen overseas to be processed in foreign refineries for foreign consumers, and Trans Mountain said, in 2015, that there would be no increases in refined product shipments after expanding this pipeline. What I want to know is why the opposition is so keen on creating jobs overseas. First, they killed sawmills in our province that oversaw exponential raw log exports, and now they're supporting refinery jobs in China. Their so-called plan will do nothing to bring relief to drivers, but it will give a giant subsidy to the oil and gas companies, companies which already receive billions of dollars in subsidies from Canadians, which is strange considering they're the party of free enterprise.
The North Coast MLA made note of the many provincial services that receive some of their funding from the taxes collected by the government and inquired of the Liberal MLA as to which services the government should cut if they dropped the taxation level, as well Ms. Rice also observed that manyof the taxes collected in the province today, were introduced by previous Liberal governments.
If government dropped the tax by a few cents, gas companies would raise the price and pocket the difference. What are the B.C. Liberals really saying when they want us to cut taxes? They're saying they want us to cut services. So what services would they like us to cut? Road repairs? Health care? Education? I know the previous government got used to leaving the elderly and students in the lurch, but on this side of the House, we've made commitments to seniors and are making up for 16 years of crowded classrooms and an assault on teachers in this province. Last year, the Leader of the Opposition said that we should stay out of the market when it comes to gas prices. But now, after his party added 15 cents to the price of a litre of gasoline, they claim the penny we've added is unacceptable.
Returning to the main element of the discussion that of the shipment of oil Ms. Rice turned back to the frequent theme of the NDP in opposition and now in government of protection of the coast from any potential bitumen spills.
We're focused on defending our coast from a diluted bitumen spill, a type of spill there is still no effective way of cleaning up. We, on this side of the House, are in agreement with former Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed when he said: "We should be refining the bitumen in Alberta, and we should make it public policy in the province." We're in agreement with Prime Minister Trudeau when he said: "While governments grant permits, ultimately only communities grant permission."
The North Coast MLA also made note of the impact on the marine environment and called on some of the past commentary from the Haisla Nation and Skeena MLA Ellis Ross and also observed as to how the concept of high gasoline prices is not a new thing for those who call Haida Gwaii home.
The communities facing the most risk, and those along the coast facing increased tanker traffic, say: "No, thanks." We're in agreement with former Haisla First Nation chief and MLA for Skeena when he said, "There's no way to pick this product" — dilbit — "out of a marine environment. I'm just not willing to actually put the Haisla in that position," or when he said: "We haven't seen any technology out there that can guarantee (1) that there won't be a spill and (2) if there is a spill, that it can be cleaned up."
We disagree with the opposition when it comes to exporting raw products for processing overseas, whether it be trees or bitumen. We believe in adding value to our products. I empathize with people paying high prices at the pumps.
In fact, my constituents in Haida Gwaii have been paying $1.65 a litre for a few years now. I don't support the motion because it will do nothing to lower gas prices in B.C. If only we could find a way to harness the energy of the hot air coming from the official opposition, we'd solve British Columbia's energy prices in a day.
The full transcript from the morning session can be explored from the Legislature Archive here.
The video presentation is also available from the Legislature Video archive for Monday's morning House session Ms. Rice's contribution to the proceedings starts at the11:09 AM period.
For more items of note related to work of Ms. Rice at the Legislature see our archive page here.
A wider overview of provincial politics can be explored from our political blog D'Arcy McGee.
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