Natural Resources committee  I think you're asking me a question about the inner workings of government, which would be far beyond me. But I can say this: deduction of operating expenses is a common deduction in any tax regime I've ever done business with in the world. On the oil and gas front, what's call

Natural Resources committee  Well, to begin, I'm unfamiliar with what tax advantage the Canadian oil industry has over other industries. Certainly I think there are different deductible rates for investments that we make in our industry versus the life expectancy of assets and so forth. Beyond that, quite fr

Natural Resources committee  Thank you. I think it's important to recognize that the regulatory system we have in Canada is the best in the world. The application of that regulatory system and the approval system in order to get projects over the goal line and into production is a very important part of ho

Natural Resources committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Ladies and gentlemen, it is a pleasure to be here today representing our industry as well as Petrobank Energy and Resources and all our shareholders. I've provided a brief slide deck for you to step through this with me. Petrobank is a Canadian

Environment committee  Our assessment is that it is fully successful. We've moved to a commercial-scale application and have actually expanded our project application to two new areas, which we'll be developing this year. We're also looking internationally at a variety of other heavy oil opportunities

Environment committee  I'll take a stab at that, just because we have an R and D division. I hope through these hearings you reach the appreciation that our business is a constantly evolving one. It is at the leading edge of technology, and quite often the bleeding edge of technology, where new techn

Environment committee  I think Michel answered your first question, so I'll jump to the second. The technology that we're using today--patented--was actually invented in 1997 at the University of Bath, and the Government of Alberta...and we purchased the technology from the Government of Alberta in 20

Environment committee  We think it has applicability throughout most of the in situ region. Certainly, in any conventional sandstone that is sustainable with the SAGD operation, our technology will work. Our technology will work in a number of places that do not have a current technology application, a

Environment committee  We're the only ones using it because we're the owners of it. We're experimenting with it to prove that it works. I think any new technology has an evolutionary phase. It goes through three stages: first of all, it's laughed at; second, it's violently opposed; finally, it's accept

Environment committee  It was like a pilot project, but we've now moved to the commercial stage, and I think people have stopped laughing.

Environment committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. It's a pleasure to be here today. I'm here representing Petrobank Energy and Resources. By way of background, we operate throughout western Canada as well as in Latin America, and have great exposure to both the regu

International Trade committee  Certainly my four-month-old daughter is welcome in Bogota any time she wants to go, but my wife insists on travelling with me every time I go down there, because she loves it. The city has changed. It wasn't always like this. I think you have to be very clear that there has been

International Trade committee  Unfortunately, I did pull the 10% number out of the air. I'm confident it's correct today, but it will change over time as our investment portfolio changes. I just want to be clear about that. It's always a big issue, and whether we're investing in northern Alberta or in the so

International Trade committee  I would suggest that Colombia has a more rigorous labour law in place. Because it's under the civil code, a lot more specifics are spelled out. There are a lot more institutionalized social programs, particularly for people who receive income at the lowest level of the pay scale.

International Trade committee  I can tell you first-hand that I'm not aware of a single Colombian who has been affected by any of our operations and is now considered to be a displaced person. In fact, our investments have had the opposite effect. We've attracted people to areas where we're working. We've crea