Madam Speaker, I thank the member opposite for allowing me to bring clarity to this very important matter. Despite all the partisan bickering, members of all four official parties have spoken with one voice in support of Line 5, including the small-c Conservative premiers of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec.

I can assure Canadians that this government has taken a firm stand on this matter since it emerged. Our government has engaged and continues to engage at all levels to advocate for Line 5. Most recently, we intervened in the legal dispute between Michigan Governor Whitmer's administration and Enbridge, asking the courts to ensure that the case remains at the federal level, especially in light of the 1977 Canada-U.S. treaty on transit pipelines.

This is exactly what members of the special committee on Canada-U.S. relations unanimously asked us to do. We will keep pushing at the political level, all the way to the top at the diplomatic level. As the Minister of Natural Resources has said repeatedly, this is non-negotiable. Energy workers and consumers will not be left out in the cold.

We worked very closely with the provinces, industry and unions, and we raised the issue of Line 5 directly with the U.S. administration. This approach was and continues to be a Team Canada approach. We continue to voice support for North American energy security because Line 5 is not only important infrastructure on the Canadian side of the border, it is vital to the United States. It also represents the integrated, intertwined and mutually beneficial relationship of our two countries. It is a relationship linked by more than 70 pipelines and almost three dozen transmission lines. This ecosystem of deeply integrated investment and trade is connected through shared supply and manufacturing.

The people of northern Michigan rely on Line 5 to heat their homes and businesses. We also move Marathon's refined oil, which is used as fuel for government vehicles, trucks and planes, among other things. Line 5 also supplies refineries in Ohio and neighbouring Pennsylvania, as well as in Ontario and Quebec.

We also regularly remind our counterparts in Washington and Michigan that Line 5 has been operating safely for 68 years.

That is why we support Enbridge's proposal of the Great Lakes tunnel project to add a layer of assurance over and above Enbridge's oversight of this outstanding pipeline. The debate also draws attention to the renewed Canada-U.S. relationship, bonded by a common objective to confront and overcome this pandemic. We will build our economies and leave no workers or communities behind, and we will join forces to take on the essential climate change crisis. We are also united in recognizing that we need our respective petroleum sectors. As we drive forward, we need the know-how, skill and financial muscle to make the changes necessary to reach our Paris targets.

Marc Serré

$545,711.00