Environment committee  I think that was a reference to the construction of a refinery in the Great Lakes area to handle bitumen and that the volume of greenhouse gases that would be created as a result of refining the bitumen there would be equivalent to that number of cars.

Environment committee  The tailings ponds occupy an area of about 120 square kilometres in total. Yes, they are a significant source of volatile organic compounds and other greenhouse gases and methane. I've talked to a number of people in industry, and this is not a critical source of emissions from

Environment committee  I can't give you exact data on how many more greenhouse gas emissions a refinery will make if it is processing bitumen. I don't have that data at my fingertips.

Environment committee  Mr. Watson, I am a journalist and my job is to question experts.

Environment committee  No, I am not.

Environment committee  Let me remind you, Mr. Watson, that in 1974 and 1973 Alberta Environment recommended that the tailings ponds not expand, that it was unsustainable, and that other processes be found before mining development proceeded at a rapid pace. That never happened. The Energy Resources Con

Environment committee  No, there is not. Mr. Chair, let me reply to that. There is absolutely not.

Environment committee  Mr. Watson, my job is to question experts. Experts lie, experts will protect their professions, experts don't always tell the truth, and my job as a journalist is to question them. Yes, the tailings ponds are seeping and they are leaking, and yes, there have been cases of documen

Environment committee  No, I'm not.

Environment committee  I think the record shows that Canada has persistently neglected water. A really radical group like the Conference Board of Canada recently gave Canada a mark of D for waste water generation. It gave a D for greenhouse gases. Out of something like 20 countries, it rated us near th

Environment committee  May I answer these questions?

Environment committee  No. I would say I'm largely a business reporter who's been writing about the oil and gas industry for more than 20 years. I don't have any degrees.

Environment committee  I'm not a well-degreed fellow.

Environment committee  That's correct.

Environment committee  That is a publication that I occasionally edit about oil and gas issues and how they affect landowners throughout western Canada.