Of course there are economic impacts on refiners. But they are not quite horrific as you might think. A study commissioned by the Canadian environment ministers concluded the impact on Canada s refining industry would not be overly excessive. Sure, that adds to an increase in the cost of gas. In pennies this translates to an increase in operating costs of 0.2 cents a litre for the refiners.
Consumers recognize that gas jumps at least that much on almost every long weekend they travel.
Then, there are also the dollar benefits that must be factored into the economic equation. Let me put that another way. If this was simply an economic ledger, taking MMT out of gasoline is an economic bonus. And that s all some people would have you believe this legislation and the debate which surrounds it, is all about. They would make it an economic battle.