For those who aren't familiar with tar sands processes, the gunk they mine has to be "upgraded" before being shipped to refineries. That "upgrading" is not what we think of as oil refining. What leaves the upgrade plants at the tar sands after upgrading is comparable to what leaves a regular oil well and gets sent to refineries.

According to an interview I heard on CBC on Sunday, what China didn't become a major investor in the study phase of the Gateway pipeline project (IIRC maybe 4 of 10 investors are major) for just the return on investment to be made down the road. Uh-uh. According to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and maybe another guest (I was driving and missed certain bits), China bought themselves enough clout to require that oil shipped through the Gateway pipeline be processed in Chinese refineries. This means Canada cannot reap any economic benefits from refining that oil. Further, Industry Canada is not enforcing their own rules designed to ensure that hazardous processes are not moved to countries with lower environmental standards. Golly, I'm shocked.

Not.