So I would like to do a little bit of discussion about what actually happens.
I worked for Texaco and I worked for Imperial Oil, and I had one rural area, which had 30-some gas stations, and about half of them were company-owned. I had two urban stations that were 100% company-owned.
So when we talk about retailers, the person behind the desk actually is an agent. They're not really the retailer. It's Imperial Oil that owns all the land, owns the gas in the ground, owns the pumps, owns everything. In my view--based on the agent agreements that I used to sign--it would be the big bad oil company that would be responsible for the cost.
I could be wrong in terms of how the system works in more rural areas and other areas, but the vast majority of gas stations in urban centres, and the gas there, are owned corporately.
The issue for us in those days was that.... I used a service maintenance company--I'm sure they're licensed by you guys--who did all our maintenance. Calibration was often done. I personally did audits monthly on my gas stations, and there was more of a concern about losing product out of the tank that's in the ground than the issue of if we were over or under. We were hoping that it was a calibration problem, because it's a much more expensive and much bigger problem for the oil companies if it's leaky tanks.
I was there when we did a complete tank removal and replacement from steel to fibreglass. So the issue might be different now from what it was when I was there a number of years ago, but I was in the business for six or seven years, and just so you know, for those who don't know, the calibration did happen on a regular basis. When I did an audit and it didn't balance, we had the service maintenance people get their butts out there and get it calibrated to make sure it wasn't a mistake at the pump.
That's why I think it's important for us to keep in mind that there are problems--and there are about 94% or 95% in this case that you're putting--but over 90% are in compliance within the tolerance. The tolerance isn't huge, and they're within the tolerance. And the companies do have a vested interest in fixing that, because they don't want to find out that it wasn't calibration after all, that it was a hole in a 40,000-litre tank that they have underground causing all kinds of contamination, and they do not want to pay for the cleanup.
So that does happen. And I do have faith in our private sector organizations.
I can understand why people think there's a bit of a conflict, but I can tell you that the service company is not interested in ignoring the calibration piece that their customer wants them to be able to fix. They need to make sure that's accurate so they have accurate audits on the amount of fuel they're pumping through the cash register and through the pump so it balances. They need it to balance. I think that's an important piece.
I agree with you on your point that there are probably a few retailers out there who are purposely ignoring the calibration issues, and we need to go after them. And I think more frequent inspections by us and forcing them to do it and providing us the paperwork that they have done it and where they're at is very important, because there are a few where we need to make sure.
I do believe you're right that these are mechanical devices and there are a number of pump manufacturers. I had a variety of pumps at different stations, and some were better than others. Some you had to calibrate all the time. That was years ago, so I'm hoping technology has improved and will continue to improve in that piece.
That was my background. This is important, but you've got to keep in mind that it's not some poor little retailer who is doing it most often. These are big bad oil companies who own most of this stuff, by far.
And will they increase the price? Of course, and things pass through, but I think the consumer would be willing to pay a tenth of a cent more--if that's what it works out to be. And don't forget where the decimal point is on these things, if they know they're getting what they're paying for or not paying for.
My concern is that there are other measurement devices in other industries. We've talked about inspecting gas pumps and stuff. The one that really boggles my mind is on the mining side.
Can you explain if that measurement that the truck comes across that says it's got so much potash or whatever on it may not be accurate, that there's less than what they say and what they're charging for? How big is that problem? Is that 50,000 meters across the country? Is that a small group? I have no idea. I was shocked to see that 50% are out--