Greg McLean
1414 8th Street SW T2R 1J6 Southwest Calgary, AB, Canada

I joined with five of my Alberta colleagues for a tour of the carbon sequestration facilities of Enhance Energy at Clive (just east of Lacombe). These oilfields are the terminus of the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line which began with foresight over a decade ago, to collect carbon emissions from Alberta’s Industrial Heartland, and deposit those emissions deep underground. Their deposit allows the further extraction of some of Alberta’s lightest oil. That’s a big win for our econ...omy and our environment. The trunk line that carries these emissions to this injection site is only about 15% utilized, so we have a ‘highway’ pre-built for industrial emitters to decarbonize their production. More companies have agreed to build facilities in Alberta and use this infrastructure. Government participated in the initial phases of this buildout but my Private Members Bill in Parliament on facilitating Carbon Capture Utilization and Sequestration as a REAL solution in our efforts to decarbonize our energy production will allow companies to lead in providing these environmental solutions going forward. I will be giving my Bill second reading in the House of Commons this coming Monday evening.

Thank you for your service.

Marking the anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge today - a commentary by Leader Erin O'Toole:

Energy, Environment, and Indigenous Economic Development are all important for Canada's future. Stephen Buffalo is the President and CEO of Indian Resource Council, and has expert knowledge on all three subjects that I look forward to hearing, and sharing with Canadians.

Coming up at 6 PM tonight. If you can't make it but you have a question -- e-mail it to me at [email protected]. You can watch the show later as it will stay here on my Facebook feed, and you can see your question answered.

I spoke at Second Reading of Bill C-11 which attempts to put law around digital privacy. This is extremely important for all of us, who are constantly being mined for our personal information by governments and companies (not to mention fraudsters), but it is also extremely complex in an ever-evolving digital environment. In my speech, I raised concerns about the non-precise language in the Bill which is subject to interpretation, and also how rules meant for very large and o...ften multinational companies might disadvantage small businesses that don't have the resources to interpret and follow all of these regulations; let alone pay the multi-million dollar fines should they inadvertently fall short of rules written for much bigger companies. (PS - I went on a bit long and the Speaker cut me off before I quite finished all of my points! My mistake!). See more

The G&M is reporting on documents acquired by a Conservative MP that show the federal government spent $4.6 million on consultants to set up the LEEFF program (COVID loans to large employers) which has made only two loans (to a casino and to a coal company). LEEFF has not been well utilized because of its several onerous conditions, including interest rates well above market rates. The Globe alleges that there were close connections to a senior Finance department official wh...o is a former employee of the consulting firm which received the largest contract; another contract went to two former aides to Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin. It appears to be more evidence of insider privilege in the administration of COVID relief programs. Former Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page said that the size of the administration budget "looks enormous relative to a few loans". The full story is here, but it is behind a paywall if you are not a Globe subscriber: https://www.theglobeandmail.com//article-more-firms-have-/

ICYMI, the House of Commons today PASSED the Conservative motion requiring the government to make a decision imminently on Huawei's participation in Canada's 5G network; and requiring them to make a plan to protect Canadians from Communist China's increasing activities against them here at home. Five Liberals supported the motion. The Trudeau government's passive approach to China has not been effective; the House has now instructed them to take a stronger stand on behalf of Canadians.

I've had some questions about Justin Trudeau's musings on a "Great Reset" of our economy post-COVID. The term means a wholesale change to global political and economic systems. Conservatives have different priorities for the post-COVID world - jobs, prosperity and growth while we continue to protect the vulnerable. Here's a one-minute video from Leader Erin O'Toole.

The portal is now open for businesses, non-profits and charities to apply for the Canadian Emergency Rent Subsidy. It is applicable between Sept 27 2020 and June 2021, and will cover up to 65% of rent or commercial mortgage interest payments on a sliding scale based on revenue declines; with a possible additional 25% if your business is closed due to public health orders. Unfortunately, it is not retroactive to the period prior to Sept 27, when many businesses could not benefit because their landlord was ineligible or unwilling to apply. Many businesses are thus starting from a negative position. In some cases, businesses are disadvantaged compared to their direct competitors whose landlords did participate in the earlier program.

Prime Minister Trudeau has always shown disdain for small business, once calling them a front for tax avoidance. COVID policies have also been hard on many small businesses. Now the government seems to be refusing to respect the Parliamentary vote to suspend audits for now. My colleagues are pressing them to act on the instructions they received from the House of Commons.

Coming up at 6 PM. Join me!

My colleague Michelle Rempel Garner (MP, Calgary-Nose Hill) wrote this thoughtful advice to the government in the National Post. It's been 11 months since the pandemic first emerged, and the Prime Minister's advice to Canadians last week was simply that we have to sacrifice more. But in fact, there are other things that the government can and should be doing. Why aren't they?

I've had some questions about holding an in-person event in the time of COVID. I want to assure you that we are following EVERY guideline from AHS and Dr. Hinshaw, including distanced seating (different cohorts at well-spaced tables), mandatory masks, hand sanitizer stations, caps on attendance lower than provincial guidelines, guests attending in "shifts", and room sanitizing between each shift. Dr. Hinshaw is most worried about "unstructured" events (such as house parties and dinners), and ours is considered a "structured" event that respects or exceeds every provincial guideline. That said, if you are uncomfortable attending an in-person event, please come to my Facebook Live event on Wednesday at 6 PM instead.

Coming up on Wednesday.