We do not have the science on cleaning up dilbit

Elizabeth May

Mr. Speaker, as background, I was an intervenor on the National Energy Board process. I am probably the only person in the chamber who went through all 23,000 pages submitted by Kinder Morgan.

I found the one piece of paper which it claimed to have studied bitumen. It was an non peer-reviewed study done over a 10-day period in a tank of water in Gainford, Alberta. They took fresh water and stirred in salt. This is apparently now what National Resources Canada folks are doing.

I want to assure members of the chamber that the science on what bitumen and diluent will do in the marine environment is best reflected in the Royal Society of Canada report, best reflected in the work of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and is not reflected in the propaganda we are getting.

We know that bitumen with diluent appears to float in tanks of water in Alberta, but in the real world environment of our oceans, forms oil balls and sinks. I wanted to share that with the hon. colleague from Souris—Moose Mountain.

Robert Kitchen – Member for Souris-Moose Mountain

Mr. Speaker, my answer is that the NEB studied this project for 29 months. The officials approved it. The bottom line is that we have a Prime Minister right now who is not showing leadership. He basically said approximately one year ago that it was time to phase out the oil fields. That is not acceptable.