Kevin O'Reilly

Thanks, Mr. Chair. This clause would give the regulator the ability to hold public hearings, and the proposed change to section 19.1 of the act says, "The Regulator may conduct a public hearing in respect of the exercise of any of its powers," and so on. In committee, we had a discussion about this, and a motion was moved to not just say that the regulator "may conduct" a hearing but actually in addition to require the regulator to conduct a hearing based on whatever set of criteria that they may develop. Why was this drafted in a way that does not set the floor for when a public hearing...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Yes, I get all of that, too. As I understood, I think the regulator is actually going through a process now of developing a methodology for determining financial responsibility, so I think the answer may actually be zero, but I just would like to get that confirmed. I understand, the OROGO, you can ask, but they may not be able to deliver, but I assume that they will. I think that is all I have on this. I still remain a little bit concerned about the one-year period, but I will have to see how this plays out. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I am glad to see that that stays in the act. I think that this issue is going to come back in terms of reviewing some of the other bills that are still before the House. I will leave it at that for now.

This might be a bit of an interesting question. In the report that committee made on the bill, there were some recommendations. I had better go back and check this. If I could just have a moment, Mr. Chair. Yes, there are a number of recommendations in the report of standing committee on the two bills.

The committee spent a lot of time and effort on the road gathering evidence...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Well, I am glad to hear that there is no limitation period on the liability that might be associated when something does go wrong. I would like to know how much financial responsibility is held right now and what form it generally takes. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I wish to table the following document. It's a letter dated August 13, 2019, from the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment to me regarding Bill 37, An Act to Amend the Oil and Gas Operations Act. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Well, what I actually asked for was some rationale as to why the one-year period. I understand that that is the case in the federal legislation. It's what we inherited. So what kind of process did the department go through in examining whether this one-year period was appropriate or not? Thanks, Mr. Chair. You know, all I want to know is why one year was picked. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the Minister for that. Let's move on to the promised revenue stream from the fibre link, which seems to be in the neighbourhood of about $3 to maybe $20 million, I'm not sure. The costs are set out in the public accounts at $3 million a year. Can the Minister explain what the anticipated revenues were supposed to be for this project and why they haven't panned out? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I brought forward this motion in good faith to attempt to provide some substance for the annual report requirements for the regulator. Committee raised this issue, as well. We have been working with the Minister's staff to try to come to some understanding or whatever on this.

I find out in the House from the Minister that the Minister and his staff have been talking to the National Energy Board and the Office of the Regulator of Oil and Gas Operations about whether this is acceptable to these outside organizations, institutions, and from what the Minister said there are...

That is great to hear about improvements in two of the many communities that the fibre optic line passes by or through. In addition to the examples I cited, though, we have the Premier on November 23, 2016, talking to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, "We are connecting all of our communities up and down the Mackenzie Valley." Given that the promise was to have service in the communities, what steps will the Minister take now to deliver on the promise and literally go the extra mile to ensure that the improvements and Internet service actually happen?

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Yes, I guess I had hoped to hear from the Minister on whether this was going to work or not, but we're not going to hear that until we get to a vote. Is that the procedure here?