Natural Resources committee  People are currently in discussions with Canterm and Shell in order to acquire storage tanks in Montreal. They are also discussing shipping the Montreal-stored crude oil to Quebec City, either by boat, train or truck. In addition, in the case of the Enbridge project, refineries at some point had to make a commitment regarding the quantity they would take under the project.

Natural Resources committee  Currently, they are supposed to ship as much as they can handle. The crude units are not all made in the same way. Ultramar can process some of the oil in its facilities. That being said, Valero is looking into possibly building some new units.

Natural Resources committee  Currently, projects are much less specific than they are at Suncor.

Natural Resources committee  Eastern Canadian refineries are clearly not yet equipped to handle large-scale processing of western crude oil—bitumen. They receive synthetic crude, but also conventional crude, from the west. However, the profit margin established when crude oil is imported—if it is available—justifies the investments required to develop infrastructure for large-scale processing.

Natural Resources committee  No problem.

Natural Resources committee  Yes. I do not have it on hand, but I can certainly send it to you if the committee wants a copy.

Natural Resources committee  Shell's refinery as such is being dismantled. However, large parts of the refinery are still in place. Some units could even be started up again because they have not yet been affected. I cannot tell you how many jobs are involved in that decontamination and dismantling phase at the refinery.

Natural Resources committee  That is a very broad question. The Quebec unions—including the FTQ and the CEP—strongly favour effective and sustainable management of our natural resources. They believe that the primary, secondary and tertiary stages of processing of those resources should take place in Canada.

Natural Resources committee  I just want to say that I did not expect to be answering these kinds of questions today. Yes, the FTQ—just as the CSN and a number of other Quebec stakeholders—is against that budgetary measure. We feel that a mistake is being made and that the tax credit generates much more money than it costs the government.

Natural Resources committee  Yes, as long as the crude oil remains in Canada and is processed by Canadians. That is our union's policy.

Natural Resources committee  It will indeed be cheaper. In the market, it's important to monitor all the indices for western Canadian crude as compared with those for light crude oil. There's a significant difference in price. Sometimes, the price even rises more than $35 a barrel. Economically, it is crystal clear.

Natural Resources committee  Of course. Since we are in negotiations with both Suncor and Valero, I can tell you that dealing with this situation is a constant challenge. To make profits—which we have managed to do—we have to be much better in a number of areas. Despite that, investors most often choose locations with much better productivity.

Natural Resources committee  Obviously, the people at Suncor would be in a better position than I am to answer that. The coking project is not dead. But there are stages to follow. We know that Suncor will think about expanding the Isomax unit, first. The second project is building a new crude unit. And the coking plant is third.

Natural Resources committee  We already process a bit of crude from out west. And a coker isn't the only type of equipment that can process crude oil from western Canada. A crude unit made of stainless steel can do similar work, as can an upgrader. That was the technology favoured by Shell. Montreal's Isomax unit may also have that capability.

Natural Resources committee  At this point, we have no reason to believe the project isn't intended to supply crude to refineries in Quebec. As I mentioned earlier, we're hoping that the government will show some leadership in this sector. One thing is certain, however, our refining capacity is greater than what the pipeline can carry to us.