Kevin O'Reilly

I would like to thank the Minister for that commitment. As I said, I hoped that the criteria would include things like the number of jobs likely to be created, greenhouse gas reductions, regional distribution, and balance between physical and social infrastructure.

The Minister has committed to share whatever criteria he has developed with our side of the House. How does he intend to share those criteria with the public?

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure. I fully understand that the federal government sets guidelines for its infrastructure programs. My concern is with the lack of transparency on what our government submits. Is there a general call put out to departments? It is just not clear to me.

Can the Minister explain how his department and Cabinet as a whole determines how and what projects are developed, reviewed, and approved for submission by this government for federal infrastructure funding? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

I don't think it's actually all that complicated. The Office of the Regulator of Oil and Gas Operations is currently consulting on managing potential cost for spills and debris associated with oil and gas activities or infrastructure. Can the Minister confirm whether the scope of that review includes changing the Oil and Gas Spills and Debris Liability Regulations or eliminating the liability caps set in those regulations? That's something that Cabinet does.

Merci, Monsieur le President. Our government passed mirror legislation and regulations for resource management that came into effect as part of the devolution process. In the Oil and Gas Operations Act, section 52 allows for the making of regulations under this legislation. The Oil and Gas Spills and Debris Liability Regulations were made under this authority and set absolute liability limits of between $10 and $40 million, depending on the location of a spill or debris caused by oil and gas exploration and production. If damages exceed the absolute liability limits, then all parties may be...

Thanks to the Minister for that. Interestingly, a couple of days ago, we had the Premier saying that we are going to go and negotiate an entire offshore co-management regime when there is nothing happening with offshore oil and gas. I think there is a more likely prospect of onshore, and we have to make sure that we protect our citizens and our taxpayers and our government from liability. When will these regulations be reviewed? The Minister could do it next week if he wishes, but when is the Minister going to review these regulations?

Merci, Monsieur le President. I would like to pursue the issue of the liability caps a little bit further with Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. To be really clear here, the review that is being carried out by OROGO is about proof of financial responsibility. It's not about the liability caps. OROGO doesn't even set the liability caps. Those are in the regulation. Is the Minister clear that the OROGO review has nothing whatsoever to do with the liability caps? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the Minister for that. So it's very clear, the work that OROGO is doing has nothing to do with the caps that are set in Cabinet's regulations. Earlier today, I recounted the massive costs that can be associated with spills or debris from accidents relating to oil and gas exploration and development. Greenland and Norway have eliminated all liability caps in relation to such accidents. The Auditor General of Canada recommended that such caps for offshore development be reviewed and changed. Would the Minister agree that the liability caps in our regulations put our government at...

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, who sets regulations for onshore oil and gas development and aggressively promotes that development. The Oil and Gas Spills and Debris Liability Regulations set absolute liability limits between $10 and $40 million, depending on the location of spill or debris. As I said, the Deepwater Horizon disaster resulted in fines and settlements more than 200 times that maximum amount. I know it's offshore, but onshore can cost us a lot of money, as well. Can the Minister explain why there are these...

Merci, Monsieur le President. I'm not very happy with the response from the Minister. These regulations are less than four pages long. In fact, I believe they are actually one page long, and the limits are just set here. I don't understand what the difficulty is in reviewing these caps.

What sort of process does the Minister envision going through to review a one-page regulation? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks to the Minister for that. We are starting to get on the same page here. I would like to ask the Minister: why have the caps not been reviewed in the four-and-a-half years since devolution?