Mr. Speaker, I will keep all those questions in mind. First, on the issue of the environmental effects, we are talking about people who have to drive to work every day. We are talking about truckers. We are talking about people whose livelihood and transportation needs depend on gasoline.
If nothing had happened at all over the last decade or so in terms of a reduction in pollutants, then I think the point would be stronger. The fact is that just with the elimination of lead in gasoline alone, 85% of particulate has been removed from the atmosphere. There is clearly more to do. A number of provinces are allowing electricity and other forms of energy to be plugged into the power grid system which people can then order. Wind power, for instance, is already being plugged into the power grid in some jurisdictions.
Many things are going on for the good and proper pursuit of the reduction of particulate in the atmosphere. This, however, should not be used as an excuse by the government to be taking in more money than it should be.
In terms of the overall amount going into the treasury, and I obviously cannot quote the figures of the last month or two, but there has been quite a shift not just in the corporate percentage of revenue coming in but in the overall revenue. As a matter of fact, about two years ago in Alberta, as I recall the figures, the resource royalty amount coming from crude oil alone had dropped from just below $2 billion to about $545 million. So there has been a very significant reduction in terms of the overall royalty, but again an increase in the economy.