Mr. Speaker, this government is committed to doing things differently, to recognizing both the importance of economic growth and the imperative of environmental responsibility.

Canadians understand the importance of natural resources to our economy. They know that this industry creates jobs and spurs investment, but they lack faith in the way we assess those projects. They have come to believe that the scales have been tipped too far in one direction.

Our government shared those concerns. That is why we committed to modernizing the National Energy Board to ensure that its composition reflects regional views and has sufficient expertise in fields such as environmental science, community development, and indigenous traditional knowledge. We are in the process of determining how these changes can best be made.

To further restore the confidence of Canadians, we have introduced an interim process for reviewing major resource projects. That approach is based on five clear principles. First, no project proponent will have to return to the starting line. Second, decisions will be based on science and evidence, including traditional indigenous knowledge. Third, the views of the public and affected communities will be sought and considered. Fourth, indigenous peoples will be consulted and, where appropriate, their rights and interests accommodated. Fifth, direct and upstream greenhouse gas emissions will be assessed.

To achieve all of this, our government intends to seek an additional four months to render a final decision on the proposed Trans Mountain expansion project, and with respect to the energy east project, we intend to seek six more months to allow the NEB to complete its work and three more months for our government to make its final decision.

We believe these are reasonable timelines and consistent with the prudent approach we have promised Canadians. With all of these efforts, our goal is straightforward: restoring public confidence in how major energy projects are reviewed.

That confidence is critical, because little can be achieved without it. As the Prime Minister has said, governments grant permits, but only communities can grant permission. If we are going to build the infrastructure to move our resources to market, Canadians need to have confidence in the environmental review process and know that it is fair and open and guided by science.

The process we have set out will take us down a different path—the right path, the path of properly weighing environmental concerns, meaningfully engaging indigenous communities, and listening to the input of Canadians. Our government will engage Canadians in a process whereby trust is rebuilt and certainty is restored and progress is made.

Kim Rudd