Discussion · Government Orders
Elizabeth May Green
“Canada ships oil to other countries instead of refining it here because foreign companies own our refineries. They shut down Canadian refineries so they would not compete with their own plants in the United States. Also, Canada does not have an oil reserve. Our only reserve is for maple syrup in Quebec.”
“Mr. Speaker, I want to point out, though, that the idea of shipping bitumen with diluent to other countries, bypassing Canadian refineries, is primarily because we have not had a Canadian-owned refinery industry. We had 40 refineries in 1960. They were all owned outside of Canada for the most part, and they did not have, as corporations, the incentive to keep them running in Canada. They were already owned in the United States. They did not want to compete with themselves, so they kept running refineries there and shipping our product there. I just wonder if the hon. friend from Skeena—Bulkley Valley happens to know the one product in Canada for which we do have a strategic reserve, for fun. I will not put him on the spot, but it is maple syrup in Quebec. That is the one resource with a strategic reserve.”
Mr. Speaker, I want to point out, though, that the idea of shipping bitumen with diluent to other countries, bypassing Canadian refineries, is primarily because we have not had a Canadian-owned refinery industry. We had 40 refineries in 1960. They were all owned outside of Canada for the most part, and they did not have, as corporations, the incentive to keep them running in Canada. They were already owned in the United States. They did not want to compete with themselves, so they kept running refineries there and shipping our product there. I just wonder if the hon. friend from Skeena—Bulkley Valley happens to know the one product in Canada for which we do have a strategic reserve, for fun. I will not put him on the spot, but it is maple syrup in Quebec. That is the one resource with a strategic reserve.