Mr. Speaker, I want to point out a couple of facts and then pose a question.
First of all, with respect to the oil and gas sector, people try to contrast it with the manufacturing sector and say that if one does well, the other does poorly. In fact, a great percentage of the projects that the oil sands is now causing is actually benefiting Ontario manufacturers, central Canadian manufacturers in particular. The fact is as the price of oil goes up, the activity goes up, as well as the demand for labour, but the manufacturing sector in Ontario certainly benefits.
We can certainly do something in a strategic sense to ensure that the energy is actually a strategic asset in Canada, which is what the manufacturing sector is asking for.
With respect to the Competition Act, the member should know that six people in Canada can actually launch a complaint with the Competition Bureau and it will be investigated. Our party's position is obviously those powers are in place currently. If people feel there is a concern at a retail or a wholesale level, they should put their names on a paper and write a letter to the Competition Bureau and instigate that investigation.
With respect to the oil sands regime that was put in place by the former government in 1995 and 1996, and I think it did a good job in doing so, the revenues that the federal government will recoup at the end of that time will actually be far greater than anything that was forgone in the short term period. That fact should be known.
With respect to the price of crude oil, does the member not acknowledge that Canada, despite its large reserves of crude oil, is in fact a price taker on the international stage? Being a price taker we can only influence the price of crude oil to a very minimal extent.