Comment le ministre justifie-t-il le fait d'avoir caché ce rapport au public pendant cinq ans?
Hon. Joe Oliver (Minister of Natural Resources, CPC): Mr. Speaker, I am troubled by the fact that the National Energy Board would not immediately release the report. A report was in fact made public last year, and contains recommendations to deal with corrosion.
Our government takes the safety of Canadians and the environment very seriously. That is why we have implemented new pipeline safety measures, including increased inspections, audits and fines.
We are working to improve our safety system, in contrast with the opposition, which votes against these measures every time.
Mr. Peter Julian (Burnaby—New Westminster, NDP): Mr. Speaker, it only became public because of access to information. Five years of hiding this report from the public is not world class. Canadians deserve better than that.
The report found inspections were inadequate and that TransCanada was ineffective in managing the aging pipeline.
That would have been important information for Canadians to have, as we debate TransCanada's other project, Keystone XL.
When will the minister ensure that the National Energy Board make public all accident reports on time, fully and honestly, so that Canadians can judge for themselves?
Hon. Joe Oliver (Minister of Natural Resources, CPC): Mr. Speaker, it is the obligation of the National Energy Board to do just that. There was an error on its part. We were not aware of it. The National Energy Board is an excellent organization that does independent scientific investigations. Frankly, the willingness of the other side to attack this independent group is not the right thing to do, because, quite frankly, it does not believe in science. It makes its decisions before the regulator actually reports.