Elizabeth May: Mr. Speaker, the hon. minister’s speech ranged widely and interestingly over a number of topics, not necessary confined to the bill before us, but I want to pick up on one of the aspects of the presentation.
We talk a lot about pipelines as though they will inevitably create jobs for Canadians, but I remember espying, with some concern, a comment in The Globe and Mail that Enbridge was of course in partnership with PetroChina, and PetroChina would likely bid on any possible twinned pipeline between Kitimat and northern Alberta. The Globe and Mail business pages nodded sagely in the direction of the competitive advantage PetroChina would have in bringing its own workforce.
I wonder if the hon. minister has any thoughts about how Canada would deal with that sort of scenario, when so many Canadians want work.
Jason Kenney: Mr. Speaker, I have been absolutely clear in saying that the labour market model of certain foreign state-owned enterprises used around the world will not be replicated in Canada. Our rules will not permit, and we will not tolerate, airlifting entire labour camps of people into this country to work on projects like that, period.
I will be releasing a package of robust reforms to the temporary foreign worker program that will make it absolutely clear to those investors, to potential state-owned enterprises, to all Canadian employers, that the temporary foreign worker program must only and always be used as a last and limited resort. That will be absolutely clear. I share the member’s concern. We will not tolerate what has happened in Africa and other countries with respect to the imported labour model of some of those state-owned enterprises