Fossil fuels are vital to the economies of Sarnia-Lambton, Ontario, and Canada and will be for decades to come.
That's the key message in the Canadian Fuels Association Southwest Ontario Economic Impact Study, that was released to economic, education, government and industry officials in Sarnia Friday.
Vice President Lisa Stilborn said Sarnia's three refineries and one in Nanticoke manufacture 21 per cent of Canada's refined petroleum product.
She said if they were to close, the impact would be extensive.
"It's a cautionary tale to regulators really, to make sure as they develop regulations that they're paced in such a way that we don't harm the competitiveness of our refineries to the point where it could lead to refinery closures which would erode our supply here in Ontario and it would force more fuel imports," said Stilborn. "We're already importing fuels into Ontario and that would make the situation worse."
Stilborn said while fossil fuels keep the economy moving now, many of their members across Canada are very engaged in developing renewable fuels, renewable fuel facilities and electrification.
"We're always thinking ahead and innovating, but what we've been saying for the last few years to governments and regulators is, it's an evolution, it's not a revolution. This gets back to the fact that the demand situation, by all accounts, says that the demand for our fuels will be pretty steady for decades to come."
The study finds that if Ontario's refineries were to close, gross domestic product would quickly decline by almost $4 billion dollars, there would be a permanent loss of over 2,000 jobs, senior government would collect $400 million less in annual tax revenue and the price of fuel, goods and services would be much higher.
Stilborn said they'll continue to reinforce the message with government officials across the province and Ottawa as well.