In Committee From The House Of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology (July 20, 2010) Committee members convened for a summer hearing in order to study the impending closure of Shell Canada’s Montreal refinery. MPs first heard from two executives from Shell, Christian Houle and Richard Oblath, who defended the company's decision to convert the refinery into a distribution terminal. They outlined their unsuccessful efforts to find a suitable buyer for the 77-year-old refinery. Jean-Claude Rocheleau, president of the Shell Workers Union, told the committee that the union supported a sale and that there was still a chance to save 500 jobs. Several MPs questioned whether or not Shell really wanted to sell the refinery.   The committee then heard from the following witnesses: former senator Michael Fortier, who had chaired a special committee set up by the Quebec government to find a buyer; Jim Boles of Delek US Holdings, which had been a potential buyer for the refinery; and Claude Delage from IBS Capital. Representatives from the Competition Bureau and Department of Natural Resources testified during the last part of the meeting. Committee members heard from Richard Bilodeau and Martine Dagenais, two assistant deputy commissioners at the Bureau, and from Jeff Labonté and Michael Rau, officials from Natural Resources. Both the bureau and the department indicated that they have no concerns at the moment about the refinery's closure.