Industry committee  Yes.

Industry committee  Utilization in Canada is much higher now. There is a myth about the refineries that have been closed down. We had 44 refineries I think in the 1960s. We have 17 refineries today. The capacity today is about three times what it was for those 44 refineries. So people can play with

Industry committee  The refining capacity is adequate. What's happened is that a lot of product is coming into southwestern Ontario from Quebec now. That has been the supply. Ultramar has expanded. I think a few years ago they were at about 160,000 barrels a day. With the recent expansion they're

Industry committee  To talk just about the oil business, the fundamental differences in oil, gasoline, and diesel prices as you go around the world are due to taxes. The base crude refining costs are pretty much the same, and as you saw on the chart, all the taxes are different. The U.S. is about

Industry committee  We've been working very closely with the government in terms of the renewable fuels policy, ethanol and biodiesel. The fundamental challenge the government has is that the only way for an effective policy to work in Canada, because we have a free trade partner in the United State

Industry committee  The oil industry is part of a world market. So, if there are additional costs for the oil sands sector, the world price will not change. An increase in costs would mean that these projects would no longer be viable, but that will not happen. It's a question of balancing the secur

Industry committee  I believe we talked about “all governments” in our presentation.

Industry committee  It's really difficult to say there's $5 a barrel in speculation. Trying to define that criteria is a rogue's game. But there's no question there was a speculative premium in the price of crude when it hit $77 per barrel in July. There were supply-demand fundamentals driving it.

Industry committee  Yes, there's certainly an opportunity to build more refineries. But as I mentioned earlier, we really need to be clear on what our plan is going to be for climate change. To what extent will it affect the demand for petroleum products if it drives demand down? Essentially, if y

Industry committee  Let's talk about oil. Let's take the example of Venezuela that, for all intents and purposes, practically gives its gas away. People pay practically no taxes and practically no value is attached to the production of natural crude. China was an exporting country. However, two or

Industry committee  In terms of strategic reserves, the U.S. is the driver because they're a net importer. In fact, there's the worldwide requirement under the International Energy Agency that says that any importing nation is required to have a certain number of days' supply. For the net exporters,

Industry committee  Yes. I think in terms of regulatory clarity on the environmental side, certainly from a hydrocarbon business viewpoint, understanding where we're going to go on climate change and what the expectations are.... It would take a very brave soul to build a brand new refinery today.

Industry committee  I guess I'll take a crack at the liquid barrels. Actually, manufacturing industries can buy crude futures or gasoline futures, so they can hedge their cost structures. The gold people have been doing it for a long time; they sell all their production forward at a guaranteed pric

Industry committee  Markets are not integrated to that extent. There is an alternative to oil. If heavy oil becomes too expensive a source of energy for a given industry, it can start using electricity or, more often than not, natural gas. If demand drops in a sector but prices are high and the indu

Industry committee  Let's talk about the oil industry. I believe that it is more important to consider competitive factors from one industry to the next. The crude market is a global market. As a result, everyone is subject to the same price hikes. Let's look at the table on page 10 of our document