Mr. Deputy Speaker:

Order, please. I regret to interrupt the hon. member but the time allotted to him has expired.

Mr. Waddell:

May I conclude, Mr. Speaker, since 1 was interrupted? I can conclude in one sentence.

Mr. Deputy Speaker:

Is there consent of the House?

Agreed.

Mr. Waddell:

It can be reported that it was the full House that said that.

I will conclude by asking the parliamentary secretary whether he can give me now an ironclad commitment-he knows what I mean-that there will be no order in council allowing the National Energy Board to renege on this promise of ironclad guarantees so that the pipeline will not go ahead and suck out all the Canadian gas to the United States without ironclad guarantees of a complete pipeline being built.

Mr. Roy MacLaren (Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources):

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to respond further to the question raised by the hon. member for Vancouver-Kingsway (Mr. Waddell) on April 17 concerning the relationship between gas export approval and commitments on construction of the Alaska highway natural gas pipeline.

The Northern Pipeline Act, and specifically condition 12, requires that construction of the Alaska highway pipeline, or any part thereof, including pre-build, not proceed until the whole pipeline has been financed. Financing of the Alaska section and the northern sections of the pipeline in Canada will not be in place for at least a year. Construction of pre-build, on the other hand, could get under way this summer. It therefore follows that if pre-build is to be approved this year,

condition 12 would have to be amended, but this will not happen unless all necessary preconditions have been met.

Condition 12 is one of the many terms and conditions imposed upon the pipeline by the Northern Pipeline Act. The act provides that these terms and conditions can be amended by the NEB, but such amendments do not become effective until approved by the governor in council. Approval in Parliament on a change in condition 12 is not required, although it would be if the act were to be changed. The NEB has amended condition 12. The amendment allows the government to approve pre-build this year, provided it is assured that financing can be obtained for the northern sections of the line.

Mr. Waddell:

Can be obtained? Should be obtained!

Mr. MacLaren:

However, the amendment is not yet effective. Governor in council approval is required, and this has not yet been obtained because all the pre-conditions have not been satisfied. Cabinet will not consider the amendment until further information on the financing of the Alaska section has been obtained from the United States, and until further information on the financing of the northern sections in Canada has been obtained. The hearing of the NEB commencing April 29 on pipeline financing should elicit the desired information on the financing of the pipeline in Canada. Therefore the hearing does not imply government approval of pre-build. To the contrary, it indicates that the government is seeking further information.

Pre-build will require approval of additional gas exports. The stated view of the government is that such exports will not be considered until domestic gas market expansion is assured and the government is satisfied that the northern sections of the Alaska highway pipeline will definitely proceed in a timely manner.

[ Translation}

Mr. Deputy Speaker:

The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, this House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 11 a.m.

Motion agreed to and the House adjourned at 10.23 p.m.

Tuesday, April 22, 1980