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Federal Conservatives argue Energy East would prevent dependence on Saudi oil

Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Hus rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, April 24, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

The federal Conservatives are invoking the risk of dependence on oil from countries like Saudi Arabia as an argument to revive the Energy East pipeline, even though the pipeline was intended to carry oil almost entirely for export.

Pierre Paul-Hus, a Quebec MP, told reporters Monday that it is time to stop being “hypocritical” about energy supply. He said Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer’s proposal to sit down with TransCanada is aimed at making Canada self-sufficient in oil.

READ MORE: Canada is prepared to freeze Saudi arms deal if weapons misused, Trudeau says 

Watch below: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he has an “awful lot of questions” about how a Saudi journalist died.

Click to play video: 'Trudeau says ‘awful lot of questions’ over how Khashoggi was ‘killed’ remain unanswered'
Trudeau says ‘awful lot of questions’ over how Khashoggi was ‘killed’ remain unanswered

Study of the project, which was opposed by many Quebec municipalities, revealed that it would have served almost exclusively to export Alberta oil to foreign markets.

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TransCanada abandoned the pipeline one year ago after the National Energy Board modified the environmental assessment process.

In a speech Sunday aimed at beginning the countdown to the Oct. 21, 2019 federal election, Scheer said a Conservative government would seek to revive the project.

The pipeline, opposed by environmentalists and Indigenous groups among others, was a key issue in the last federal campaign, especially in Quebec.

READ MORE: ‘This is a project that would unify all Canadians’: Calls to reconsider Energy East pipeline

Watch below: Some videos from Global News’ coverage of the debate over the proposed Energy East pipeline.

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