Industry committee  In Canada, I believe the number went from 44 to 17 refineries. It's very similar, in terms of the proportion, to what there is in the United States, because the data you referred to are U.S. data.

Industry committee  I haven't looked at that. It is quite possible that production levels per refinery are higher, but if they claim to be more efficient, that should normally bring the costs down, rather than the opposite. What we're really talking about here is market concentration, because there isn't enough competition in that market where prices are very high.

Industry committee  Take a look at the financial reports issued by the major oil companies, for example: in 1999, refinery profit margins were about 5¢ or 6¢. They were already making money back then with those kinds of margins. So, one can assume that 5¢ or 6¢ is a reasonable profit. However, it is when that starts to rise that profits become excessive and, right now, profit margins were about 25.7¢ in May.

Industry committee  Prices in Quebec are regulated; there is a floor price. If you take Mr. Irvine's data and raw data, and if you take the price of gas at the pump and remove the taxes—because they vary from province to the next… if you compare prices in Quebec to those in the Atlantic region, Ontario and Western Canada, you will see that Quebec has the lowest before-tax prices.

Industry committee  Indeed, if they were truly more efficient, prices would normally go down, rather than shoot up. That is really the result of the small number of players in the industry, of the fact that concentration that has occurred and that they are able to maintain very small inventories of petroleum products—just enough to meet demand, but not enough to respond to unforeseen events.

Industry committee  It's important to understand the price dynamic and how prices are set. First of all, in terms of prices at the pump, we all know that the crude sector is important. We know that the price of crude oil has increased steadily for a number of months now, and even a number of years.

Industry committee  Mr. Chairman, members of the Committee, let me begin by introducing the people who are with me today. Mr. Pierre Crevier is the Chairman of the Board of AQUIP and President of Pétroles Crevier. Mr. René Blouin is AQUIP's Senior Consultant. My name is Sonia Marcotte, and I am Chief Executive Officer of the Association québécoise des indépendants du pétrole.

Industry committee  Still in May, the retailers' margin was 4.9¢. Since then, the price at the pump has continued to reach new highs. As we will see, these spectacular increased are the results of the combined increases in the price of crude and refining margins. It is clear that the significant increases in refining profits are no accident.