The Conservative push to repeal the federal government’s oil and gas emissions cap was voted down in the House of Commons on Tuesday, with MPs rejecting the motion 192–140.Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre introduced the measure, arguing that even in its preliminary form, the cap has discouraged billions of dollars in private investment in Canada’s energy sector. “It turns out that nobody wants to build a pipeline when the government bans you from producing the oil to put into it,” he said.The motion called on Prime Minister Mark Carney to immediately repeal the policy, which the Liberals first promised during the 2021 election campaign..The emissions cap is designed as a cap-and-trade system imposing mandatory reduction targets on oil and gas producers. Draft regulations released last fall set the first iteration of the cap at 35 per cent below 2019 levels, starting in the early 2030s. Noncompliance could result in penalties of up to $12 million.Speculation has grown in recent weeks about the policy’s future. Reuters reported earlier this month that the Carney government is considering dropping the cap in exchange for commitments to emissions reductions from both Alberta and oil and gas companies.Poilievre pressed the Liberals to make their intentions clear, warning that keeping the policy alive would undermine investor confidence..“We’re giving Liberals an opportunity to vote here and now: If they vote to keep their production cap in place, it will be a signal that all the flirtations that the prime minister has done, with the possibility of producing more or building pipelines, were nothing more than an illusion,” he told the Commons.The Parliamentary Budget Officer estimated in March that, under the levels set in the draft regulations, the emissions cap would eliminate 54,400 full-time jobs and cut nominal GDP by $20.5 billion annually by 2032.The report set off a war of words between the PBO and Liberal officials, who accused the watchdog of misleading Canadians by not factoring in “technically achievable” carbon capture improvements..Corey Hogan, the parliamentary secretary for energy and one of two Liberal MPs from Alberta, rejected Conservative claims, arguing that the policy’s critics underestimate the potential of emerging technologies. “I don’t think there’s an environmental reg (Conservatives) don’t think would kill the pipeline industry in Canada, but it is stronger than they think and the chicken little routine is getting a little bit tiresome,” Hogan said.Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin told reporters earlier this month that consultations on the 2024 draft regulations are ongoing, with no timeline yet for the release of final rules. “All of that feedback has been gathered and we’re continuing to work through that feedback,” she said.Tuesday’s vote leaves the cap in place for now, but its long-term fate remains uncertain as the government weighs economic pressures against its climate commitments.
