Fort McMurray, AB - Today Brian Jean, Member of Parliament for Fort McMurray - Athabasca, highlighted the need for system-wide regulatory reform in order to position Canada for economic growth and long-term prosperity.

“There is $500 billion in potential investment across Canada in our resource sector over the next decade.  This is the equivalent of a company the size of Apple relocating to Canada every two years.  However, this investment in the Canadian economy is not guaranteed. We are competing with countries around the world,” Mr. Jean said.  “We must put in place the conditions necessary to attract this investment and the hundreds of thousands of jobs it will bring.”

“One of the largest impediments is our regulatory system that takes too long to review projects,” Mr. Jean added.  “Our government will introduce a system that will continue to have strong environmental protections while removing duplication, inefficiencies and lengthiness."

Mr. Jean explained that the Government’s ultimate goal is one project, one review, with clear timelines from beginning to end.  “We believe reviews for major projects can be accomplished in a quicker and more streamlined fashion,” he stated. “We do not want projects that are safe, generate thousands of new jobs and open up new export markets, to die in the approval phase due to unnecessary delays.”

The-Asia Pacific is expected to lead growth projections far into the future.  As a country, we must seek new markets for our products and services and the booming Asia-Pacific economies have shown great interest in our oil, gas, metals and minerals. Diversifying our markets will create jobs and economic growth for Canadians across this country.  The resource sector requires services from every sector of our economy, from the local grocer to the cornerstone owner to the manufacturer of resource equipment to the financial services agent. They all have interest in our resources.

“Our Government will continue to enforce strong environmental and safety standards right across this country, while at the same time ensuring we put in place the conditions necessary to create jobs and economic growth for Canadians across the country” concluded Mr. Jean.