Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, and ultimately, the Minister responsible for Climate Change. Previously in this House, he refused to take a position on the Teck Frontier Resources Project in Alberta, a project that will make sure that Canada does not meet its emissions targets and will end up with the Northwest Territories dealing with 40 years of effluent from Alberta. Why is the Minister refusing to take a position on this project?
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I recognize that NWT residents and Members are concerned about the potential environmental impact of the proposed Teck Resources oilsands mine proposed downstream from here. As I said previously to the Member for Frame Lake, the bilateral agreement with the Government of Alberta was signed in March 2015 to help preserve equality and quantity and the biology of the water flowing into the NWT.
Mr. Speaker, I want to inform the House and the public that I have already spoken to Smith's Landing Chief Cheezie about this issue and will also be reaching out to the Alberta government to emphasize their commitment under the Alberta-NWT bilateral agreement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I recognize the importance of transboundary agreements and the work that the Department of ENR is doing into monitoring, but our public service must remain impartial and, at times, an issue become one of partiality. This is one of those such issues.
In the past week in Ottawa, members of the Liberal Party's own caucus were criticizing their Cabinet for approving this project. Once again, I am questioning why we elect politicians who refuse to take political stances. I would ask the Minister: what is his position on this project?
I know that politicians are supposed to take stances on things. It is easier when you are on the other side to do it. Right now, what I am trying to do is work with the Government of Alberta to do what is right to actually implement the transboundary water agreement. That is what I am working on. I don't want to get up here and say, "Here, I'm greatly standing against it or supporting it." What I am trying to do is do the work right, then we can go from there.
I appreciate that answer, and it is the job of a department to make sure that the work is done right. It is easier on this side of the House to take a position. My position is that this project should not go ahead, and if it ruffles some feathers with Alberta or the Liberal government in Ottawa, I am fine with that, because if we are going to take meaningful action on climate change, we must take positions. We must draw a line in the sand. In this case, the tar sand. What benefit does the Minister of ENR see that this project provides Northerners?
Tar sands, drawing lines here. What I am trying to do right now is work with the Alberta government to make sure that the quality of water coming out is good for our people. If it isn't, that's when we come out and work again. I don't want to make a political stance saying yes or no about this. What I am trying to do is do the job, which is working with the Alberta government to make sure that whatever project they are doing does not have an impact on us. That is the most important aspect of it. That's what we're trying to do. I don't want to come out here and say yes or no to something until we do the work first.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
