75-Minute Debate (20 April 2023)

From Hansard (20 April 2023)

To view this section on video, click here and start play at 11:53:40 AM.

 

Baseload Power Supply Options and Federal Energy Policies

The Assembly was debating the following motion moved by Warren Kaeding (Sask Party - Melville-Saltcoats):

That the Assembly supports the development of reliable baseload power supply options for the province of Saskatchewan, including the potential deployment of small modular reactors, and condemns the Liberal-NDP coalition for their imposition of policies that will shut down coal and natural gas production without support for Saskatchewan’s energy workers.

Mr. Keisig: — Thank you very much, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I am very happy to enter into debate with my colleagues today.

I really want to get something on the record here, Mr. Deputy Speaker. The member from Saskatoon Centre said — and I don’t have time to pull up the Hansard yet. It doesn’t come until 3 o’clock — but I heard “stripping resources.” What does the member from Saskatoon Centre mean by stripping resources?

Saskatchewan has the most strongest environmental record, the strongest environmental worker, the strongest people in the province handling our resources, harvesting all of everything that we produce here to the best . . . In any global standard, we are the top. And I’m very curious as to what she means by that statement.

We do not strip anything in this province, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Our oil, our gas, our uranium, coal, potash, helium — everything that’s produced in our non-renewable sector, in our renewable sector, nothing is ever stripped. Saying that we’re stripping something out of our environment is insulting to the workers. It’s insulting to the workforce. It’s insulting to all of our bureaucrats in the Ministry of the Environment.

We have unbelievably strong environmental regulations. And I’m very proud of everything that’s done in this province.

There’s something very important too we have to talk about, Mr. Deputy Speaker. The members opposite talked a lot about renewables and different things, and I think something that has to be absolutely stressed. The Minister of the Crown Investment Corporations, I’ve talked about this many times, but they have an app on your phone, and you can go on it any time. And on that app, it’s telling you right now where your power comes from. It is an absolutely important tool. So the horrible snow outside. We all want clean baseload electricity. And they talked a lot about renewables and how great they are and how useful. They have a use, Mr. Deputy Speaker, but you have to have that in context. So right now, our wind . . .

The Deputy Speaker: — Do not use a prop in your speech, please. Thank you.

Mr. Keisig: — I apologize, Mr. Deputy Speaker. It was strictly for my information.

So currently, our wind-generating fleet, we have 615 megawatts, and as of right now, we’re generating 243. So that’s a 33 per cent efficiency of your total production capability. Yeah, simple math. On our solar fleet, we have 30 megawatts of solar, and currently, just imagine what we’re producing today, right now. Two, according to the app, 2 megawatts. That’s less than 7 per cent efficiency.

You cannot run a modern society on unreliable electricity. It is that simple. It is a safety, it is a health, it is for industry, for people, for our entire province — we need baseload electricity. And it has to be affordable. It has to be reliable. And it has to be delivered to every Saskatchewan citizen.

So with that, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I will be supporting the motion brought forward by the member from Melville-Saltcoats and look forward to the continuation of the debate. Thank you.

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Following the 75-minute debate, there is a ten-minute question and answer period. The following section begins at 12:02:25 PM in the video link provided above.

Mr. Teed: — Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. You know, 10 minutes just isn’t enough. I didn’t even get to some of the notes I had about coal and natural gas. You know, Mr. Speaker, I think we’ve said it a couple times, their federal leader, the former prime minister Stephen Harper, started the phase-out of coal.

So to the member from Last Mountain: what will this government do to invest in Saskatchewan residents to develop specialized skills needed for those folks who are losing their jobs because their federal friends are phasing out coal? And what are they going to do to ensure that those workers are prepared to work in the SMR industry that they are trying to build?

Mr. Keisig: — Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I don’t know what federal friends the member opposite is referring to. I do not attend any federal friends’ fundraisers in the evenings like they do. But who am I to judge? We will always support our energy workers. We are adamant in our love for pipelines, the need for more transportation to get our products to port, to market. And we will never, ever back down from that, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Thank you.

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The following section begins at 12:05:20 PM in the video link provided above.

Ms. Nippi-Albright: — miigwech, Mr. Speaker. To the member from Last Mountain-Touchwood: does the member from Last Mountain-Touchwood have a detailed plan to ensure that toxic waste will be stored in a manner that is safe and reliable for Saskatchewan residents and the environment?

Mr. Keisig: — I honestly thank the member for the question. We were just discussing this with the member from Regina Northeast before we came into the Chamber. It’s very important to know that that — what she calls nuclear waste — is spent fuel. And there is technology coming on line and we are going to be able to harvest the rest of the energy in that spent fuel.

And it’s also important to note, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that the entire global nuclear waste would fit into half of Mosaic Stadium. It is a minuscule portion of . . . It takes a minuscule part of environmental footprint and it has potential for us to be able to use more of it in the future. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

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