Tories demand Liberals immediately cancel oil and gas emissions cap

OTTAWA — The Liberal government’s oil and gas emissions cap may not even be fully implemented yet, but the Opposition Conservatives aren’t waiting to go in for the kill.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said in the House of Commons on Monday that, even in its preliminary form, the federal emissions cap is chilling private investment in the oil and gas sector, to the tune of billions in lost opportunities.

“It turns out that nobody wants to build a pipeline when the government bans you from producing the oil to put into it,” said Poilievre.

Poilievre was speaking in favour of his own motion calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to “ immediately repeal the oil and gas emissions cap.”

The Liberal oil and gas emissions cap, a major 2021 campaign promise , is effectively a cap-and-trade system imposing mandatory reductions targets on industrial emitters.

Draft regulations released last fall set the first iteration of the cap, starting in the early 2030s, at 35 per cent below 2019 levels, with noncompliance punishable by a fine of up to $12 million dollars.

It was reported by Reuters earlier this month that the Carney government is considering dropping the cap , in exchange for commitments to emissions reductions from both Alberta and oil and gas companies.

But Poilievre said it was time for the Liberals to end the suspense.

“We’re giving Liberals an opportunity to vote here and now: if they vote to keep their production cap in place, it will be a signal that all the flirtations that the prime minister has done, with the possible of producing more or building pipelines, were nothing more than an illusion,” said Poilievre.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) estimated in March that, under the levels set in the draft regulations, the emissions cap would kill 54,400 full-time jobs and cut nominal GDP by $20.5 annually by 2032.

The report set off a war of words between the PBO and Liberal officials, who accused him of misleading Canadians by not factoring in “technically achievable” carbon capture improvements.

Corey Hogan, the parliamentary secretary for energy and one of two Liberal MPs from Alberta, was quick to pick up on this thread when speaking against the Conservative motion.

“I don’t think there’s an environmental reg (Conservatives) don’t think would kill the pipeline industry in Canada, but it is stronger than they think and the chicken little routine is getting a little bit tiresome,” said Hogan.

Hogan said he was disappointed the members opposite didn’t share his optimism about the potential of Canada’s budding carbon capture technologies.

Energy analyst Heather Exner-Pirot said that, while it is unlikely to pass, the Conservative motion will at least put the party on the right side of history.

“This cap was terrible policy from day one, and it now looks to be on its last legs. I guess they want to be on the record saying they did all they could to push it off the table,” said Exner-Pirot.

Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin told reporters earlier this month that she was still analyzing comments submitted in response to the 2024 draft regulations and that no timeline had been set for the release of final regulations.

“All of that feedback has been gathered and we’re continuing to work through that feedback,” said Dabrusin.

National Post rmohamed@postmedia.com

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