Mr. Speaker, I am going to ask everyone up front to excuse my west coast tired brain, but I am happy to stand on this important issue.

First and foremost, I will be sharing my time with my colleague, the member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley.

We know this bill provides a framework for regulatory approvals of offshore wind energy projects and updates the current legislation to help facilitate the development of offshore renewable wind power, which will, in turn, greatly enhance the ability to decarbonize the electrical grid in Atlantic Canada. It is much needed. We also know that this necessary regulatory framework will kick-start the development of a significant green hydrogen industry in Atlantic Canada.

As we know, Atlantic Canada has enormous potential to develop a renewable offshore wind industry that will create good, local jobs, lower energy bills and fight the climate crisis, three issues that we know are vitally important to people across Canada and on the east coast. We know that offshore winds are generally stronger and more consistent than onshore winds and offshore turbines tend to be larger as well. That means that offshore wind projects generally have a greater overall power output than onshore equivalents, while also providing a more consistent stream of energy. This is good news for East Coasters. We know that updating the Atlantic accord is an important step toward the development of offshore renewable energy.

I know members are very aware that my roots are in the east coast, St. John's, Newfoundland, in particular. I am certain anybody who has been to Newfoundland knows first-hand that there is no shortage of wind. I spoke a little earlier about my experience there. It is funny because I remember hearing my parents talking about having to walk to school with snow up to their armpits in a blizzard, the stories about the hardships of childhood. In fact, I had to walk to school with tremendous wind blowing. I remember having to lean into the wind as a kid and grab onto items not to get blown backward. There is an incredible resource in wind, and we need to utilize that resource.

We know there are incredible opportunities with wind-powered energy. We also know that we need to do this right. As somebody who lived in Newfoundland, I know first-hand how important the fishing industry is. We know that right now there are many working in this vitally important industry who are already struggling to make ends meet, so it is paramount that, as we move forward in this work to provide renewable energy, with good jobs for Newfoundlanders, we are also looking at potential implications for fishers that may come from wind turbines. My hope is that we will see a clear, real jobs plan for any fishers who may be impacted. This is so important for coastal communities.

I will make one last point about myself. This is far from being about me, but it is my frame of reference, I guess I could say. When I grew up in Newfoundland, the cod moratorium had happened and my family owned a small business in St. John's, Newfoundland. We were not fishers, but the economy and community that we depended on were very much impacted by this cod moratorium. This cod moratorium, along with a few other factors, is the reason my family sold everything, packed up our vehicle and drove from the east coast to the west coast to start our new lives in Nanaimo, which is, of course, where we call home today.

My point to this is that it is vitally important that we are supporting coastal communities. If there are industries that need supports and people whose livelihoods depend on it, who require supports to transition through these changes, the government needs to be stepping up and providing the leadership to ensure that this is happening. We definitely do not want people to have to leave their homes, leave their home provinces or leave the country to find that economic stability. We have a wealth of opportunities right here in Canada, particularly on the east coast. This is another example of an opportunity that can be provided.

Another piece that I wanted to mention is around the importance of us moving forward in a way that considers potential environmental implications, in particular when we look at marine protected areas. This is a concern that has been brought to my attention around ensuring that we are looking at continuing to protect marine protected areas. Biodiversity in our marine ecosystems is dwindling, and we know that our marine ecosystems need to remain diverse. We need to see species flourishing in order for our marine ecosystems to thrive. These are the same marine ecosystems that fishers depend on for their livelihoods, and the same marine ecosystems that we rely on for our planet to function and to capture carbon.

We know that Canada, unfortunately, is failing to meet targets to combat the climate crisis. The Liberal government has failed to meet any of the commitments or targets it has made since first getting elected in 2015. It is sad to know. CO2 emissions have only recently flatlined after many years of rising under the government's tenure, and we still do not have an emissions cap on the oil and gas industry, as promised by the Prime Minister two years ago at COP26. We are in a climate crisis and we need to see actions being taken at a much faster rate than this.

Canadians are experiencing first-hand the devastating effects of the climate crisis. We have had days upon days of air quality warnings in cities across the country due to smoke. I know in my riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith, people with asthma struggled tremendously. People without asthma questioned whether to take their kids outside and play. The impacts are horrendous. We know people in Fort Nelson, for example, are just returning home today, which is the last update I received, after being evacuated from their homes for two weeks due to wildfire concerns. We are only in May. We are not in June yet.

It is not just me saying this issue needs to move forward, but those who live in Newfoundland and Labrador are saying it too. We know, for example, that the Newfoundland premier, Andrew Furey, said, “The significance of these amendments to the Atlantic Accord cannot be understated. This will echo loudly now and be heard for years and years to come. Much like the original Atlantic Accord, we again take stewardship of our natural resources. What we can aptly describe as the winds of change are upon us all here today. Today, we start towards a new frontier for future generations. This is a gigantic win for every Newfoundlander and Labradorian.”

It goes on from here. We know that Tim Holman, the Nova Scotia environment minister said, “If you've ever visited us or Newfoundland, you know we have lots of water, you know we have lots of wind, and we're gearing up to take advantage of those natural resources in a clean, sustainable way. We're paving the way for projects such as offshore wind and green hydrogen production,”

It is time that we support the provinces in moving forward with clean energy and with real jobs for people who live in these Atlantic provinces, and have the resources in place that would help lower the greenhouse gas emissions that we so desperately need to see happen.

Lisa Marie Barron

$567,189.00