Pierre Poilievre, the federal candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada, made an appearance in Terrace, B.C. on the morning of Monday, April 7.
He held a conference as a part of his campaign in northern British Columbia, unveiling a new "one and done" regulatory system to streamline project approvals. According to Poilievre, a "one-stop shop" for project applications and environmental reviews would help avoid projects getting mired in bureaucracy. The wait-time for a project would be capped at one year with the hope to approve it within six months.
Poilievre also promised to green light 10 projects currently awaiting approval, including the second phase of the $40 billion LNG Canada project in Kitimat, B.C.
Both Skeena-Bulkley Valley Conservative candidate Ellis Ross and Cyrill Nabess, a representative of the Kitselas First Nation, were in attendance. Poilievre commended Ross for helping negotiate the LNG Canada project.
"I can't wait to bring the incredible riches to the Haisla, the Kitselas, the Nisga'a, the Squamish and the countless other coastal First Nations who want to build LNG export terminals," he said.
Poilievre's visit to the Northwest follows a news conference in Osoyoos, B.C. two days prior, where he stood by North Island-Powell River candidate Aaron Gunn who previously stated ideas like a "loaded word like 'genocide' doesn't remotely reflect the reality of what happened," in videos and statements on Twitter in 2019 and 2021.
Poilievre marked the accusations against Gunn as "misinformation," and that he "has not denied the impact of residential residential schools," but rather condemned the government-sponsored system that took 150,000 Indigenous children away from their families.
In Terrace, Poilievre pushed the idea that Conservatives are the only party offering a "bright future" for First Nations through resource development. He stated that his party would enact a "First Nation resource charge," which would allow companies to directly pay taxes to First Nations communities.
On the morning of April 7, Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Taylor Bachrach put out a press release, "calling on Poilievre to reject all prospective Conservative candidates who deny the lived experiences of residential school survivors."
Poilievre, standing in a region that had two residential schools 鈥� one in Port Simpson and another in Kitimat 鈥� did not discuss Bachrach's letter or Gunn's statements at his Terrace press conference.
He spent much of the conference targeting Mark Carney, "who will be trotting out his trophy titles," and Justin Trudeau's leadership as the Prime Minister for the last 10 years.
He also discussed a new policy proposed by the federal Conservatives aimed at seniors, allowing them to earn as much $34,000 a year without paying income tax and pushing the registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) age limit from 71 to 73.
Citing "wrong headed, unnecessary and chaotic policies" of U.S. President Donald Trump, Poilievre proposed Canada stop depending so heavily on the United States and instead, sell the country's energy and natural resources overseas.
鈥淐anadian oil and clean natural gas should be displacing coal and reducing emissions worldwide by allowing India and other Asian countries to use gas instead of dirty coal 鈥� but now we export 98 per cent of our energy to the Americans at massive price discounts, and that puts us at the tender mercy of Donald Trump and the Americans.鈥�
Poilievre stated that there's no reason why Canada cannot be the richest country in the world.
"We have the most resources, the most land, the most coastline, pretty much than any other country on Earth. [The Liberals] have hiked taxes on investment, energy, home building and passed [Bill] C-69, the anti-development law that Mark Carney wants to keep in place."
BIll C-69, the Impact Assessment Act and Canadian Energy Regulatory Act, was enacted in 2019 to give the federal government the authority to consider how the environment might be impacted by proposed natural resource projects. As a result, the process to approve projects has become lengthy.
Poilievre acknowledged that countries like Australia, Qatar, Indonesia, Malaysia and the U.S. are ahead of the Canada in LNG production, but that Canada is not too late because of his government would rapidly approve major projects if elected. Canada also has the advantage of a shorter shipping route of 11 days compared to 20 days from the U.S.
The Pembina Institute and the David Suzuki Foundation that B.C.'s LNG market is weaker than previously thought, citing B.C. as a late entrant to a market dominated by lower-cost and established options. Environmental groups like the DSF denounced the idea of "clean natural gas," as its shipment and burning around the world contributes to global warming.
Poilievre concluded his presser stating, "We need a new Conservative government for a change that will axe taxes, green light the construction of homes, mines, pipelines and LNG plants, and bring home our jobs so that we can reinforce our economic fortress against the Americans in the short term."
