Perhaps there are two questions to answer. One is with respect to Shell in Russia, which is meant by your reference to the newspaper articles on the Russian Sakhalin Island project. That is a joint venture between Shell and Japanese companies.
Essentially, there are very complex nuances underneath all of those newspaper articles. Essentially, they are about the Russian government leveraging for ownership in that development. Really, the charges and things they're talking about in the press are, I believe, untrue and unfounded. They are a leverage by the Russian government to attain, in their negotiations with Shell and the Japanese companies, ownership of those resources. So that's a separate issue.
Let me get back to oil sands, with respect to your question on what assurance the oil sands developers can give that these oil sands sites will be reclaimed and will not be legacy environmental issues of the future. I stand here with all my colleagues to say that our approvals for these oil sands mines—both from the Alberta government and from the federal government through the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and other agencies—require us to fully reclaim these sites.
It is our intention and full commitment to reclaim the oil sands sites. There is a significant amount of research going into the reclamation programs for all of our businesses, and essentially we're looking at reclaiming these sites to fully sustainable ecosystems. I can't say that they will be exactly the same as they were before. Of course, peatlands are being removed. But what will be replaced is...a diverse landscape that will have wetlands—we will call them marshes—that will have uplands, that will have forested areas. All of these things are part of the reclamation programs that are under way today, and part of the research that goes with them. These sites will not be left as a legacy for Canadians in terms of environmental liability.
I would also say that oil sands developments are for deep pockets. These are for big developers who have the financial strength to commit to these kinds of reclamation programs, along with the technology, the people, and the operating experience to go with them.