Mr. Speaker, I listened closely to the speech by the hon. member opposite. I am very interested in the fact that the hon. member from the NDP spoke about the dirty gas and all the other problems that would be caused by the closure of this facility.
To the hon. member who answered his question, I know one of the reasons why the number of refineries in this country has dropped dramatically. I am very disappointed by this situation, and obviously I am not justifying it.
Two or three players control this industry in each region. Petro-Canada is also a serious cause for concern in Newfoundland, where it just closed not only its refinery but also its gas station franchises.
One of the legitimate reasons for this closure is simply the amount of sulphur in the gas. To obtain a profitable product, there must be a balance with the United States, and there are other products available with 30 million particles per million.
As the hon. member knows, Canada went ahead on the issue of sulphur reduction in gasoline. It is one of the reasons the major oil companies have decided they may shut this. Does he not see a concern as far as going ahead of the international market on sulphur in gasoline and that this is maybe one of the reasons it is so expensive?