(Ottawa, May 24, 2007) Following closely on the heels of Environment Minister John Baird’s decision to exempt industry from hard caps on greenhouse gas emissions, the Minister has today exempted from assessment under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act the first Canadian oil refinery to be built since global warming became a concern. Irving Oil plans to build a colossal $7 billion dollar, 300,000 barrel/day refinery adjacent to its existing refinery in Saint John.