Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'm going to change topics and talk about the National Energy Board. Recently the NEB approved two more pipelines--Alberta Clipper and Southern Lights--that will transport, it's proposed, raw bitumen to refineries in the U.S.A. Some arguments have been made that this will impact jobs in our refineries in Canada.
I understand that we don't have the capacity at this point, but at some point, if we were to build that capacity, we would not be able to turn off the pipeline and supply our own refining jobs here in Canada, because there's a clause in NAFTA that says we can't do that.
The other thing is that this would increase production of the oil sands by significant amounts and add to our greenhouse gas emissions. We already know that most of our GHGs are coming from oil sands.
It also speaks to the security of our energy--again, based on the clause in NAFTA that says we can't turn off the tap and also our commitment to supply U.S. markets by a percentage. The more we ship, the percentage stays the same but the more they're entitled to.
Given the minister's statement previously on the objectives of NRCan about environmental responsibility, safety and security—I'm talking energy security in this instance—and economic competitiveness, I'm just wondering, how does the pipeline project fit in with those objectives? Does the National Energy Board have different objectives from those of NRCan, and that override our environmental sustainability objectives?