Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievreย committed to boosting Canada’s oil and gasย sector during aย visit toย St. John’s on Tuesday morningย as part of his Atlantic swing on the campaign trail.
Poilievreย beganย his visit with a stopย at Olympic Construction where he focused on Newfoundland and Labrador’s offshore.
“I support Newfoundland and Labrador’s plan to double production of oil and gas,” he said, adding he will grant rapid permits to a proposedย liquefied natural gas facility in Placentia Bay to ship more oil to Europe and “break European dependence on [Vladimir]ย Putin.”
In Newfoundland and Labrador, thisย includes more offshore oil drilling, which he claims Liberal Leader Mark Carney will prevent.ย
“Heย wants to keep it in the ground and that includes under the ocean floor,” said Poilievre. “[Carney]ย will not allow any offshore development here in Newfoundland. To keep it in the ground, he would have to block any further projects from going ahead.”
Energy sector CEOs called on Ottawa in March to use emergency powers to speed up key projects.ย In aย letter to political leaders, the CEOs of 10 of the largest oil and natural gas companies and the four largest pipeline companies outlined what they believe will strengthen Canadian economic sovereignty.
The letter included a commitment to create firmer deadlines for project approvals, asking that projects be approved within six months of application โ somethingย Poilievreย calls the “build Canada demand.”
He also said he will make a more drastic cut to the federal carbon tax, pointing atย the industrial side of the taxย rather than just the consumer portion, which ended onย Tuesday leading gas and diesel prices in Newfoundland and Labrador to drop by over 20 cents per litre.
WATCH | The CBC’s Heather Gillis reports on Poilievre’s visit:
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was in Newfoundland and Labrador on Tuesday, greeting supporters in St. Johnโs and Petty Harbour. Poilievre came with promises of support for the fishery and energy sectors. But a small group of protesters tried to deliver a message of their own.
“If you tax theย industrial backbone of the country, you tax every single person who lives in a modern economy,” said Poilievre.ย
He also promised to unlock “the power of First Nations workers” with Indigenous loan guarantees, and the establishment of the Canadian Indigenous Opportunities Corporation (CIOC).ย
“I want Indigenous people to be the richest people in the world, but that means allowing them the loan guarantees to get their investments into these projects.”ย Poilievreย said.
Petty Harbour protest
Shortly after his stop in St. John’s, Poilievre made his way toย Petty Harbour โ about 15 kilometres south of St. John’s โ to a tightly controlled event during which a Conservative staffer jostled reporters.ย
As Poilievre walked the wharf, some reporters stepped forward to take pictures, butย at least one staffer put his hands out and used his body to direct them elsewhere.ย
A small group of 2SLGBTQ+ย protesters stood outside the parking lot near the wharf in the quiet fishing village.ย They say they weren’t allowed inside.
“We believe that he is a threat to Canadian democracy and is a risk to all of our rights,” protestย organizer Sarah Worthman said.
Worthman said Poilievre is unwilling to protect human rights, exemplified by his willingness to use the notwithstanding clause in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“He’s constantly criticizing and erasing gender diverse people and trans people, referring to them as biological males. Just using harmful language that frankly is not necessary,” said Worthman.ย “Just stick to politics, dude.”
While in the town, Poilievre spoke about the fishery, saying Clifford Small, the Conservative incumbent for the N.L. riding of Coast of Bays-Central-Notre Dame, would be his governments’ fisheries minister, and put “the fish harvesters back in charge of the fishery and take it away from the bureaucrats and the politicians.”
He also took aim at the Liberal government’s stance on the protected marine area off the island’s south coast.
In February, Parks Canada changed the boundary of a new national protected marine area around the fjords by nearly 30 per cent. The change covers fewer fjords and opens up areas for potential aquaculture.
But Poilievreย called theย move was part of the “radical environmental extremist ideology of the Liberal Party.”
“Bureaucracy has been propelled by this Liberal government to block harvesters from producing,” he said. “I will not allow marine protected areas to be used to shut down fisheries.”
Small said he would bring theย fishing industry “to the tableย to make sure we increase opportunity in the fishery, to take as much fish as we can while conserving our ecosystem.”
Citing protected areas, Poilievre said the partyย handed the fishery over to foreign companies.ย
In June 2024, when Canadaย reopenedย the commercial cod fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador, fiveย per cent of the total allowable catch was allocated to the international fisheries body called the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization, while 95 per cent went to Canadian vessels.ย
Poilievreย also promised he would double the funding to Canada’s small craft harbours and would reverse changes to the MPA zones.
“We will fight to get the quota back forย our harvesters, not foreign harvesters,” he said. “This will help us toย be strong against the tariffs.”
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