The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday edition that Canadian crude is now flowing smoothly out of the oil patch. The Globe's Tim Shufelt writes that investment funds that specialize in oil and gas, however, are experiencing heavy outflows, indicating that the sector is still shrouded in negative sentiment. This is surprising considering all the positive news coming out of the energy sector these days. The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is the latest game changer. For the first time in many years, there is spare pipeline capacity from the Alberta oil sands. The sector has also transformed itself financially by cutting costs and reducing debt. Oil and gas producers are now flush with cash and have become unlikely dividend darlings, funnelling their profits back to shareholders. Despite all this good news, energy exchange traded funds have seen a net outflow of $259-million so far this year, on track to surpass last year's outflow of $505-million. This is surprising given that energy is the top performer in the stock market this year, with a three-year rise of nearly 140 per cent -- more than three times the gain of any other sector. Mr. Shufelt says oil and gas is still suffering from reputational issues.