Wally Schumann

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, I do not believe the relationship with the Tu Cho fishermen are strained. Just because there was an article on CBC and an interview based on what an individual has said in the Northwest Territories, I would not say it is strained. I have talked to most of the fishermen since that article came out, and there is some real concern about what is being put out there by the press and our relationship with ITI and our staff. In particular, I don't appreciate this individual trying to single out our staff in Hay River who are doing a great job on this. He reaches out to the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. ITI worked closely with OROGO and NEB to help ensure that the regulator holds proof of financial responsibility if there is a risk of spills or debris from work or an activity. Clause 9 extends the proof of financial responsibility requirement by requiring the holder of an authorization to ensure that the proof of financial responsibility remains in force for the duration of the work or the activity and for the period of one year after the regulator notifies the holder that all work that had been authorized has been successfully abandoned or decommissioned in accordance...

Good minister.

---Laughter

If there is a need to require specific content in the future, Bill 37 is required to have requirements related to the form or the content of the report outlined in the regulations. ITI staff has spoken with OROGO and the NEB regarding the proposed items that would be required under this motion, and OROGO and the NEB have raised concerns regarding the following: the onerous administrative burden created by some of these items; the lack of clarity and appropriateness of some of these items; duplication between certain items; and an incorrect statutory reference.

It is...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Clause 5 provides the regulator with the authority to hold a public hearing when it determines doing so would be in the public interest. A decision would likely be made by the regulator with input from the chief conservation officer, the chief safety officer, and other senior staff, and will be based on a review of concerns related to a particular application or activity. As I said, it's not clear what circumstances under the Oil and Gas Operations Act would require a mandatory public hearing. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We will respond to the recommendations in this report by the end of this Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. No, nothing in the bill needs federal consent. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

First, let's be clear. We are not limiting the contracts that NWT businesses can bid on. There is a limit in place on the dollar amount of the total adjustment that can be applied, and that is $500,000. While the intent of the Business Incentive Policy is to support northern businesses and recognize the higher costs of doing business in the North, we also have a public responsibility to ensure effective and appropriate expenditure of public resources. In a review that was taken a number of years ago, it was determined that the total bid adjustment of $500,000 was a fair amount and would offset...

I am going to give a fulsome answer here, so just bear with me. Okay? The threshold for dissent requirement is low federal consent is required for any amendment that would affect the regulatory functions of the NEB and the ISR onshore. Given that low threshold for federal consent requirement, ITI staff began engaging with the federal government in 2018, in July. ITI staff worked with the federal government and the NEB to ensure that it would be able to obtain federal consent for any amendments it proposed. The federal government, through an order in council dated May 21, 2019, provided its...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The intent of the Business Incentive Policy when it was created was always to support the creation and growth of a competitive business sector in the Northwest Territories. As I have said in the House before, this is probably one of the best policies the Government of the Northwest Territories ever created. The policy recognizes the additional costs that northern operators experience in the Northwest Territories, and what this policy does is allow businesses to adjust their bids by 20 percent versus southern bidders, and it leverages our government in our procurement...

As I have said, Mr. Chair, these SDL-holders that hold a significant amount of opportunity in the Northwest Territories are put into a spot right for you, as the Member from the Sahtu earlier said in his comments today, to attract investment into the Northwest Territories versus some of these other opportunities that lie globally. We are at a significant disadvantage, the way things are playing out globally. There are a lot of challenges around that industry.

Canada, as a whole, is having a problem attracting the oil and gas industry back to Canada as an investment opportunity, and we will...