Senator Joan Fraser:

The oil sands are very different from fracking, which, at least in Canada, seeks natural gas. There has been a great deal less of it. It is regulated largely by provincial governments and therefore there is variation throughout the country. Thus far there has been little of it and it has taken place mostly in Alberta. There is considerable political resistance in eastern Canada, where the oil and gas companies have been eager to get going with fracking.

Mme Papillon may have something to add in this regard. There is a new provincial government in my province which, as I understand it, has simply declared that there will be no fracking. I am unsure whether there have been any unique Canadian studies. There may have been some but I am unfamiliar with most of them. We rely to a significant extent on work done elsewhere.