Hon. Marty Klyne: Senator Moreau, the 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles has triggered retaliatory action from China, directly harming Canadian canola producers. Export markets are shrinking, prices are softening and thousands of Western Canadian farmers face growing uncertainty.
Meanwhile, Saskatchewan’s Federated Co-operatives Limited, or FCL, has a fully permitted, shovel-ready canola-crushing and renewable-fuel refinery, a project that has been paused for two years. If restarted, it would create a major domestic market for Canadian canola, produce renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel to cut emissions in trucking and aviation, and reduce China’s leverage over our agriculture sector and, indirectly, our auto sector.
This project remains stalled not due to market conditions but because of regulatory and political uncertainty. Escalating construction and operating costs, unclear procurement pathways and potential shifts in low-carbon policy, including Clean Fuel Regulations, are all creating too much instability. What steps is the —
The Hon. the Speaker: Thank you.
Hon. Pierre Moreau (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you, Senator Klyne. You have time in supplementary to finish your question, but this is a very interesting project, and I imagine you want to see what will happen with it. I guess that is the question.
As you know, we have adopted Bill C-5 in an attempt to cut red tape on approval for very important projects. It’s the kind of project that the Major Projects Office would be open to considering, and I will certainly bring whatever information you have to the Prime Minister’s Office to ensure that the Major Projects Office takes it into consideration.
Senator Klyne: Thank you for that. Senator Moreau, this is more than a single facility. Restarting this project would turn a trade dispute into a made-in-Canada solution that helps farmers today, cuts emissions tomorrow and creates a just transition for thousands of long-term jobs.
Given the urgent needs of the canola producers and the significant climate and economic benefits at stake, I’m pleased to hear that you’ll take this up with Minister Hodgson and potentially the Prime Minister to engage directly with FCL to provide the clarity and predictability needed to move this project forward.
Senator Moreau: It is the government’s commitment to develop cleaner energy, and this is certainly a project that goes in that direction. So I’ll gladly and promptly present the project to the Prime Minister’s Office in that way.