The Blueprint: Canada's Conservative Podcast - August 18, 2026


Canada’s Resources Are What the World Needs!


Episode Stats


Length

23 minutes

Words per minute

179.24

Word count

4,160

Sentence count

248

Harmful content

Misogyny

2

sentences flagged


Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
00:00:00.000 Hello and welcome once again to The Blueprint. This is Canada's Conservative Podcast. I'm your
00:00:07.700 host, Jamie Schmael, Member of Parliament for Halliburton Quarth Lakes, with new content for
00:00:11.540 you every single Tuesday, 1.30pm Eastern Time. Don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, and
00:00:16.520 share it, because we will have, even throughout the summer, information for you to tell your
00:00:21.980 friends about, to let them know that the mainstream media isn't exactly covering everything. So
00:00:27.020 download it, too, on platforms like CastBox, iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify. You name it,
00:00:32.000 it is out there. On today's show, we are talking about repealing Canada's oil tanker ban and
00:00:38.420 unleashing the Canadian economy to its full potential. To mention this and to go into detail,
00:00:44.060 we bring on Dave McKenzie, the Member of Parliament for Calgary Signal Hill. Thanks for coming on the
00:00:48.700 show. Pleasure. Thanks for having me. And you have a private member's bill to deal with just
00:00:53.280 that, unleashing Canada's economy by getting rid of that silly oil tanker ban.
00:00:59.500 You know, Jamie, it's an interesting thing, but when you talk to industry people in my
00:01:03.920 home province of Alberta, those in the oil and gas industry, and they say, what, you
00:01:08.220 know, if they are asked the question, what do we need to go forward with?
00:01:11.480 What do we need in order to build the pipeline that now the Prime Minister, as well as the
00:01:16.440 Premier of Alberta have agreed, is in the best interest of Canada.
00:01:19.260 It's a national interest project at 1 million barrel per day export pipeline to the West Coast.
00:01:25.540 What do we need to get that done?
00:01:26.960 People in the industry say, well, number one, we have to repeal the tanker ban.
00:01:30.640 Now, that's not necessarily in any particular order, but it's an obvious deterrent.
00:01:34.920 We will not ship 1 million barrels a day to the West Coast and try and put that oil into rowboats.
00:01:39.960 It has to be loaded into safe and effective shipping oil tankers.
00:01:44.800 Now, where we're going to do that has not yet been decided.
00:01:47.360 But right now we have a moratorium imposed by the Trudeau Liberals on shipping from the northern coast of BC.
00:01:56.440 Now, when this was put in place, a lot of the argument around putting it in place was about environmental protection.
00:02:03.140 But here's the real rub with this legislation.
00:02:05.820 It doesn't actually prevent loaded oil tankers from proceeding through the waters that the moratorium covers.
00:02:12.280 It is only a prohibition on loading and unloading of the northern BC coast.
00:02:18.560 So it's my proposition to Canadians and to the House of Commons that the legislation
00:02:24.280 C-48 was only ever put in place to bottle up our Western Canadian energy from getting
00:02:30.780 to export markets.
00:02:32.280 Now, circumstances with our good friends to the south, the United States, also what's
00:02:37.280 happening in the Middle East with conflict, which is affecting shipping of crude oil
00:02:42.040 around the Strait of Hormuz, and that's been ongoing throughout this year.
00:02:46.600 Those things are putting the highlight on the fact that Canada has extensive oil reserves.
00:02:51.820 We are a safe democratic supplier.
00:02:54.800 Our industry leads the world, is certainly among world leaders in production, environmental
00:03:00.660 protection.
00:03:01.660 We can ship safely.
00:03:02.700 We do it now today, and we need to do more of it.
00:03:06.640 So how do we go forward?
00:03:08.200 We get this ban out of the way, and we move from there.
00:03:11.200 It does make economic sense, right?
00:03:12.920 Like some people say, well, wouldn't it be nice if we have some resources, whether it
00:03:17.660 be minerals, oil and gas, and maybe fresh water or something like that.
00:03:21.320 Canada has it all.
00:03:22.320 We just cannot get our product to market other than mainly the United States.
00:03:27.200 Well, this is right.
00:03:28.340 And right now that's exactly what we're doing.
00:03:30.020 We're shipping most of the oil that we produce in Canada to the United States, and we do
00:03:34.220 so at a discount.
00:03:35.340 And why is that?
00:03:36.340 Because we have largely a single customer.
00:03:39.320 Now, the expansion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline, the TMX, from one pipeline to two has increased our export capacity.
00:03:47.600 And by the way, for folks who are worried about the environmental impacts of shipping, those ships have been leaving Burnaby and the port of Vancouver now for almost two years and doing so safely.
00:03:59.580 So we can export crude oil.
00:04:02.380 Tankers in this day and age are double-hulled.
00:04:04.960 They have backup power systems.
00:04:06.620 They are operated with GPS navigation.
00:04:10.040 When ships are close to shore in Canadian waters, they have a local pilot on board,
00:04:14.620 not giving advice to the captain, but actually commanding the ship.
00:04:18.080 And those pilots have local knowledge.
00:04:20.400 And so they are there to prevent accidents.
00:04:22.860 There are tugboats that are in place to guide ships into port so that we have, again, safe shipping.
00:04:30.360 So it's my simple belief that we have the capacity and the ability to have safe maritime shipping
00:04:35.140 from the northern BC coast, and we can have all of it.
00:04:39.120 We can have environmental protection, and we can have the industrial development
00:04:43.220 and the economic benefits of producing our oil in western Canada
00:04:48.080 and getting it to export markets.
00:04:49.580 It must be nice to just take the burden off industry
00:04:54.740 and allow them to do what they do best, which is adjust to market forces, right?
00:05:00.200 And then supply that market and take those benefits
00:05:02.780 and put it back either with taxes, wages for the workers, creating opportunities and benefits.
00:05:07.460 But you do have a major hurdle, not only this federal government, despite the words that the
00:05:11.960 Prime Minister keeps saying. We have a screenshot here. We have the Premier of BC who is just
00:05:17.740 digging in about this tanker, man. He does not want a single more drop of Alberta energy going
00:05:26.100 out of the northern ports. You know, it's really hard to understand exactly where the BC Premier
00:05:31.920 comes from sometimes when he talks about these things. Again, as I said, you know, many of us,
00:05:38.040 and particularly folks old enough and with enough gray hair like myself. Thank you for only saying
00:05:42.780 you, not me. Yes, my pleasure. I think there's one or two I have. Indeed. Some of us remember the
00:05:49.220 Exxon Valdez, and it was a horrific accident that resulted in a crude oil spill in Alaska.
00:05:55.800 And, you know, since that time, which we're somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 years since
00:05:59.760 that occurred, the shipping standards and safety have dramatically improved.
00:06:06.360 And so we're not running risk and playing Russian roulette with that type of an incident
00:06:11.560 or accident, not at all.
00:06:13.460 I care about the environment.
00:06:15.080 Our Conservative Party cares about the environment.
00:06:17.840 Our leader, Pierre Polyev, cares about the environment.
00:06:20.820 We intend to see shipping occur safely.
00:06:23.740 And there are plenty of things that can be considered, including consultation with the
00:06:27.620 Indigenous communities on the northern BC coast as to what their historic knowledge is of safe
00:06:34.160 shipping routes and sea lanes and things like that, that we need to get serious about exploring.
00:06:39.960 The fact is that if we're going to produce resources, we need shipping alternatives. And
00:06:44.160 by the way, there are countries across the Pacific Rim, our allies, democratic nations,
00:06:49.440 they're trading partners who want Canadian energy. And so being a safe and reliable supplier from a
00:06:56.480 democratic nation like Canada is an important part of the place in the world that we can play.
00:07:00.960 Now, you mentioned governments like tax dollars, $116 billion in taxes and royalties paid to
00:07:11.560 Canadian governments from oil and gas production. Now, that's a really big number. And it's those
00:07:17.680 kind of fiscal benefits from this industrial activity that allow us to have the programs
00:07:23.200 and social spending that we as Canadians value.
00:07:26.740 Our social safety net depends on activity, jobs, taxes paid, royalties and taxes in this
00:07:32.780 case, and that's in addition to the jobs.
00:07:36.980 And we're talking about somewhere in the neighbourhood of 150,000 direct jobs in the
00:07:42.320 energy production industry, 300,000 indirect jobs.
00:07:47.280 And that is a pipe and components and machinery that may be manufactured in Ontario, but shipped
00:07:52.380 to Western Canada for use in the energy industry, and another 100,000 jobs, taking us up to
00:07:58.380 somewhere in the neighborhood of 400,000, 400,000 plus in indirect or associated jobs.
00:08:03.520 And those are the things like hotel rooms, transportation, meals in a restaurant when
00:08:08.280 individuals are out in the back 40.
00:08:11.100 And I'm telling you, some of our production is pretty remote in the province of Alberta
00:08:14.540 and Saskatchewan and in northern BC as well, and frankly, all the way into Manitoba.
00:08:19.160 So those benefits extend quite widely, and they're very critical.
00:08:25.020 So we have a great opportunity to produce energy, benefit our local economies as well as our provincial and national economy,
00:08:33.600 and also be a solid trading partner for nations around the world that want Canadian energy.
00:08:39.580 The badge of success that this government seems to be using over and over again is how many people can be on a program that they created.
00:08:49.160 right? So we have a problem the government creates. They come up with this grand solution,
00:08:53.660 a government program that they put a certain number of people on where others fall apart.
00:08:58.580 You know, again, Mark Carney was Justin Trudeau's economic advisor from 2020 onward. That's when
00:09:06.720 a lot of people were hurting the most. It was the advice given by Mark Carney. And now we're
00:09:12.580 dealing with the fallout and we still are so cue up cut one this is him speaking to a a a panel
00:09:19.460 here and just basically i don't know i was insulted just as an individual but i can imagine
00:09:25.280 an energy worker listening to this and what they were feeling play cut one one of my questions was
00:09:30.120 is this pipeline going to come so boring it's not actually it is it is no but it is it is because
00:09:36.300 it's look don't worry we're on it we're on it like we're on it but there is this whole world
00:09:41.500 Okay, hands up.
00:09:42.400 Who's working on the pipeline in this room?
00:09:44.280 Isn't that a problem?
00:09:45.120 No, no, no, no.
00:09:46.800 Look at all the variety.
00:09:48.000 Nav, like, does your, like, this, we have...
00:09:52.280 Yeah, if there's more prosperity, they'll get more cell phone services.
00:09:55.880 But look, okay, so what's going to drive, one of the things, don't worry,
00:09:59.780 we're on the pipeline stuff, Danielle's on line one, don't worry, it's going to happen.
00:10:04.040 But, well, something's going to happen, let's put it that way.
00:10:08.120 It's not very good negotiating by my perspective.
00:10:10.960 What kind of attitude is that? We're on it. Oh, forget the jobs of the people suffering. We got this. Don't worry about it. Something will happen. I don't know what. Like, unbelievable.
00:10:20.680 Truly.
00:10:21.680 We're on year 11 of a Liberal government that for 10 years, albeit under a different
00:10:26.740 Prime Minister, focused day in and day out on shutting down, not just shutting in, but
00:10:31.640 shutting down the Canadian energy industry, the petroleum industry, centered largely in
00:10:36.540 Alberta, but as I mentioned earlier, affecting all four Western Canadian provinces.
00:10:40.560 So when we're coming from that, and the Liberal Party has changed the leader, but they haven't
00:10:45.440 fundamentally changed the rest of the crew.
00:10:48.000 And so when Prime Minister Carney tries to say, I think if I could distill that, don't
00:10:54.060 worry, trust me, well, I'm sorry, but that doesn't work any longer.
00:10:59.380 For those who aren't aware, you know, the Northern Gateway pipeline was well through
00:11:03.820 the process and had been permitted, issued licensing to go ahead and to be actually installed.
00:11:13.000 has stated publicly that they spent over $600 million on that effort, only to have the federal
00:11:19.940 cabinet under Justin Trudeau abandon the project, abandon their support, and fail to take the next
00:11:24.920 step the federal government had to take. And that was further consultation with indigenous communities
00:11:29.060 to satisfy court requirements for that purpose in order to have that pipeline finally approved
00:11:35.380 and for construction to commence. So with that kind of track record, trust me, doesn't cut it
00:11:42.300 any longer. And frankly, it is a pretty simple step to repeal this tanker ban. My private members
00:11:50.640 bill, C-264, is 15 words long. The bill, C-48, is repealed. It's that simple. Now, I don't know
00:12:00.320 why we're not getting immediate uptake and support on this from the Liberal Party.
00:12:05.640 If they mean what they say.
00:12:06.600 If they mean what they say, as I said at the outset, a $1 million barrel per day export
00:12:12.360 oil pipeline will not be built to the West Coast without an ability to load ships and
00:12:16.780 tankers and then ship that oil.
00:12:18.720 So are we serious or are we not?
00:12:21.180 Now, I thought that perhaps by this point, I'd hear from some in the Liberal caucus with
00:12:26.580 what their plan is if it's not an outright repeal of the tanker ban.
00:12:30.940 And so far, I've heard nothing.
00:12:32.120 So that tells me that the Liberals either just fundamentally don't understand the energy
00:12:36.440 industry, which I suspect is probably the case, but also it really causes me to be very concerned
00:12:42.200 about how serious they are about actually seeing a pipeline built. Now remember, Prime Minister
00:12:46.620 Mark Carney stood in the House of Commons in very late January and said, the MOU will build a
00:12:51.580 pipeline, period, end of sentence, unqualified. So where's the rest of the plan? Well, he's given
00:12:58.100 himself extraordinary power to do whatever he wants, so there's really no excuse. Q-up cut two,
00:13:02.840 We have the prime minister. I don't even understand his answer, but I do want to dissect a few things with the words he has chosen to use here.
00:13:10.820 Play cut to the the MOU and the intention of the MOU has been that Alberta would advance that there will be a private sector proponent for the pipeline that the federal government has.
00:13:24.800 well, I shouldn't say it's an agreement,
00:13:27.340 so we all agree on this,
00:13:28.760 that there are multiple preconditions
00:13:30.860 for that pipeline moving forward.
00:13:33.120 It includes strengthening the carbon market.
00:13:35.240 It includes the methane regulations
00:13:37.080 that the minister helped put in place
00:13:40.520 and have been put in place now.
00:13:42.540 It includes very much the pathways project moving forward,
00:13:45.660 no pathways, no pipelines,
00:13:46.940 so all those elements moving forward.
00:13:49.440 But we're making progress,
00:13:51.180 and it's a private sector proponent.
00:13:52.460 Obviously, you can't designate something
00:13:54.180 which has not yet been fully proposed.
00:13:57.600 So that's why I chose carefully the word advancing as opposed to concluding.
00:14:03.560 So off air, you had a few issues with what the prime minister said.
00:14:06.960 So the prime minister is linking the construction of a carbon capture and sequestration pipeline
00:14:13.940 at significant cost into the billions, I believe the last figure I've heard is $16 billion.
00:14:18.380 dollars. Those in the industry will tell you that there is no economic case for that entire
00:14:24.820 strategy, that entire project. The only way it works is if you tax carbon dioxide production
00:14:31.160 to a point where suddenly, in a very inverse way, you're creating the economics for that pipeline
00:14:37.760 to make sense. But all it is at the end of the day is a tax burden on the industry.
00:14:44.000 Exactly. And that goes to the individual.
00:14:46.220 You know, absolutely. There was a speech given by the president and CEO of Synovus at the Global Petroleum Show in Calgary.
00:14:55.680 And he said simply that his experience, and Synovus ships many millions of barrels of oil a day to customers.
00:15:04.420 And he said, we've not yet had one request for decarbonized oil.
00:15:09.520 The suggestion has come from the Liberal government.
00:15:12.280 Many times.
00:15:12.560 decarbonized oil will command a market premium and it's just a fantasy at this
00:15:19.740 point in time I don't suspect it will be any different in the future let's face
00:15:23.800 it a barrel of oil is its energy is in the carbon that's within that barrel and
00:15:29.720 so decarbonizing a barrel of oil is a is an odd construct of interested interesting
00:15:37.740 minds, but not in any way practical. So coupling those two together, I would have to suspect that
00:15:43.820 it gives the Prime Minister some political coverage with his pro-environmentalist base.
00:15:48.580 Now, I want to clarify. I said before, I care about the environment. I truly do. I have two
00:15:53.180 kids in their 20s, and I care about the state of this planet going forward. When I think of
00:15:58.840 what the Prime Minister, I suspect, is contending with, it is those who don't want the oil produced
00:16:04.140 at all. Yeah. And it's much more difficult to say we're going to produce or we're not going to
00:16:09.300 produce. That's a fairly black and white question. I believe the reality is today that the world
00:16:13.980 consumes somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 million barrels of oil a day. Not all of it is
00:16:20.060 burned for energy. Anywhere up to 40% is used for other products that make our lives work. My
00:16:26.340 cell phone is here on the table. Pen and everything. I suspect some out of my mouth.
00:16:31.140 My clothing has some artificial fibers that were derived from oil.
00:16:35.460 So those are the products that make the world that we live in and enjoy today the world
00:16:40.180 we live in.
00:16:41.180 And so we're going to continue to need oil produced for that purpose alone, even if alternate
00:16:45.400 energy sources are ultimately identified and serve all of our energy needs.
00:16:49.400 And we're not there yet.
00:16:50.800 And until such time as we are, oil is a necessity in the world that we live in.
00:16:55.100 And so I had some conversations with some liberal backbenchers.
00:16:59.320 And one fellow said to me, well, you know, but why would we put any public money into
00:17:03.860 this pipeline now at this point in time?
00:17:05.700 You don't need to.
00:17:06.700 Because oil is not going to be, we're not going to be using it in 10 or 15 years.
00:17:10.080 And I said to him exactly that.
00:17:11.540 I don't want to see any public money in this pipeline.
00:17:14.900 This is a project that if the Liberal government got out of the way, if they eliminated the
00:17:20.300 regulation that makes it untenable to advance a project, spend $600 million if you're Enbridge,
00:17:26.040 and then be shut down at the 11th hour.
00:17:28.660 If the Liberal government is serious, they get out of the way with the regulations, put
00:17:32.380 a clear framework in place, environmental review and consideration, and adoption and
00:17:38.280 adaptation, indigenous consultation fully and completely, including benefits to communities
00:17:44.780 affected by activity, do all of that, put that rule book in place, and then let private
00:17:49.260 industry decide if it wishes to invest.
00:17:51.440 I believe it will, because there is a business case for an export pipeline to the West Coast,
00:17:56.020 But that's not a decision the government should make.
00:17:58.520 It's not a decision the government has to make.
00:18:01.040 And I would like to see public expenditures directed elsewhere.
00:18:04.440 Well, that's the thing.
00:18:05.820 Some of the liberals that you were speaking with,
00:18:08.360 they must, clearly they recognize that the system to build anything in this country
00:18:13.740 has gotten so, so heavy that industry is leaving and choosing to invest their money elsewhere.
00:18:20.440 And they're, in their minds, well, the only way to build a pipeline
00:18:23.380 is to get the government to invest.
00:18:25.000 But no, if you actually get out of the way, the private money will come and allow you to free up, as you said, those dollars to go elsewhere.
00:18:33.280 And this is the other issue that the government throws on one regulation, one tax, and just piles on, making energy more expensive to the point there will be a point and a line where people think, well, even to extract it, we're not going to make any money.
00:18:47.700 We can't sell it, so we're not going to invest.
00:18:49.880 And the project doesn't go forward.
00:18:51.620 I'm sure that's a back way of the Liberals shutting down the industry altogether.
00:18:55.760 But if we're in an affordability crisis and energy powers our economy,
00:19:00.480 wouldn't it great to have cheaper energy, therefore cheaper products on the market, including food?
00:19:06.700 100%. All the way around.
00:19:08.600 Now, right now, one of the things that I think sometimes those who want to command the economy,
00:19:14.100 and my concern with our current Prime Minister, everybody feels secure in the knowledge he's a smart guy.
00:19:19.440 But one of the dangers for a smart guy is believing that you can do everything.
00:19:23.880 And when that comes to running Canada's economy, I don't believe that any prime minister,
00:19:28.740 no cabinet, no government should be trying to run the economy.
00:19:32.400 Our job as parliamentarians and when we form government as a Conservative Party is to support
00:19:37.360 a private sector-led economy.
00:19:39.460 And that means regulate the things that need guidelines and guardrails, but stay out of
00:19:43.560 the way otherwise and let business make the decisions about where capital is invested.
00:19:48.300 But when it comes to capital, one of the things that's ignored when you're going to command
00:19:52.000 the economy is that if private capital doesn't like the circumstances that you're going to
00:19:56.800 set up for them, that money simply goes elsewhere.
00:19:59.880 And there's probably no place that's more true than in the international energy industry.
00:20:04.400 So if the ability to go forward with a project under the regulatory scheme put in place by
00:20:09.700 the federal government is simply so obstructionist in Canada that it makes projects uneconomic,
00:20:16.280 $600 million, not a dollar of return for Enbridge.
00:20:19.600 That money that could be invested in Canada, could create jobs, could create economic activity
00:20:24.720 that leads to taxes and royalties that fund our country from a government perspective,
00:20:31.020 that money simply goes elsewhere.
00:20:32.740 So that's a very big risk here.
00:20:34.120 It continues.
00:20:35.120 C-69 is probably the single worst example of that.
00:20:38.180 While my private member's bill goes after the tanker ban, C-69 has been deemed by many
00:20:44.040 in industry as being completely unworkable. Rather than getting rid of that, what has the government
00:20:48.820 done but create an express line around it with the major projects office. If you bend the knee
00:20:53.720 and kiss the ring, you might be able to get something through. You get something the government
00:20:57.520 approves of. That's no way to run a country. It's just that simple. So that idea that if you, again,
00:21:04.840 I don't know what, I don't know who you have to impress in order to get a project done, but it's
00:21:09.260 the wrong approach. Let's put the rule book out on the table. Let's let everybody see it. And I
00:21:13.400 think Canada as a country will attract international capital for projects and investments here.
00:21:19.280 And that's going to reside in so many positive things for the Canadian population as a whole,
00:21:23.540 from coast to coast to coast. To me, there's no question that that's the common sense route we
00:21:28.820 have to go. I agree with that as well. David, we're pretty much out of time. But as you know,
00:21:33.380 although this is your first time on the show, the guests get the last word. So the floor is yours.
00:21:38.900 Well, Jamie, thank you again for the opportunity. This private member's bill has been a real
00:21:43.200 experience for me. I'm a relatively new MP having just been elected in April 2025. And so I think
00:21:49.600 I'd like to say to your viewers, common sense. That's what we're about as conservatives. If you
00:21:54.680 find yourself nodding when somebody is speaking and describing steps the government could take
00:21:58.300 that will make your life better, that's probably a conservative talking about common sense solutions
00:22:02.760 for our country. So that's what I'm about. That's why I've left behind 30 years of private legal
00:22:08.180 practice in order to take part in a very important part of our country, which is our federal
00:22:12.140 government. Unfortunately, right now, Conservatives aren't in government, but we continue every day to
00:22:17.360 do that job, bringing forward common sense solutions to real problems that people have.
00:22:21.080 Well, let's get your tanker ban legislation in. Hopefully, the Liberals have common sense. 0.93
00:22:26.920 264. C264. Let's keep an eye on that because I think that'll transform the Canadian economy. So
00:22:32.060 we'll see what happens. Let's repeal this oil tanker ban off the West Coast. David, thank you 0.89
00:22:36.800 very much for your time. Thank you for yours. That's David McKenzie, the Member of Parliament
00:22:40.540 for Calgary Signal Hill.
00:22:42.800 And of course, we will have new content for you
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00:23:03.780 Until next week, remember,
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00:23:07.100 That's the blueprint.
00:23:10.540 You