Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to follow up on the new role that ITI will be assuming as the NWT oil and gas regulator, so my questions are for the Minister of ITI. The Premier and the Minister have said in the House that several options were considered before choosing ITI as our regulator. Could the Minister summarize what those other options were and what were the advantages and disadvantages of each option?
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We could have looked at an option that would have left us with the National Energy Board regulating onshore oil and gas activity in the NWT. It was felt that we could look at an integrated resource management approach here in the NWT which would allow us to build the capacity here in the Northwest Territories to regulate the industry ourselves. We wouldn’t be regulated from Ottawa or Calgary. We could build that capacity here at home. We believe we can do that and do it correctly. We’ve got the Land Use and Sustainability Framework. We’ve got the Water Stewardship Strategy. All of these things are going to be put into the work of our integrated approach to resource management here in the NWT. I think it is way too early to be so critical of something that is so positive.
Being critical is my job. The NEB is playing a big role in enforcing workplace safety standards in the Sahtu, but the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission also has a role to play in regulating the workplace.
Can the Minister explain who will be in charge of workplace safety as of April 1st? Who will be inspecting oil and gas work sites to ensure that safety rules are being followed?
That would be the chief safety officer.
It would be interesting to know who that person reports to, the chief safety officer. As our current regulator of oil and gas, the NEB includes consideration of the environment in their assessments. In addition to the land and water permits each project requires, the NEB also considers the potential cleanup liability created by a particular project.
As of April 1st, who will be responsible for assessing cleanup liabilities? Will it be just the land and water boards or will ITI have a role?
The Member knows full well that we are going to be mirroring federal legislation, the Oil and Gas Operations Act as well as the Petroleum Resources Act. Those pieces of legislation will guide us. For the Member to make assertions that there will be no public hearings, that we are going to throw those to the wayside, things are going to continue to happen here in the Northwest Territories. We will be able to regulate this industry here in the Northwest Territories. We will be able to build a capacity here at home to enable us to do that. The plain fact is that this change will provide for a regulator that is a territorial regulator, not from Calgary, not from Ottawa, but here in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m not sure what the Minister was talking about there. He certainly didn’t answer the question. I made no assertions. I was asking, as of April 1st, who will be responsible for assessing potential cleanup liabilities. Will it just be the land and water boards or ITI? I’m not sure why the defensive answer there. All of these questions lack the clarity we need, considering these things take effect April 1st. I have to ask why we did not create an NWT version of the NEB as originally intended. A made-in-the-NWT energy board could certainly have taken over from the NEB without generating such controversy and uncertainty so we may mirror legislation, but somehow we’ve lost a public board for a Cabinet regulator. I would appreciate a response to that. Why did we not create an NWT version of the NEB as originally intended, a made-in-the-North board? Mahsi.
Oil and gas projects here in the Northwest Territories will, again, continue to be subject to environmental regulation under the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, which will continue to require public hearings in some circumstances. It’s simply wrong to make an assertion that because of devolution, requirements for public hearings are going to change. That’s not the case. This is going to be our best effort put forward to regulate this industry in the Northwest Territories, build a capacity here at home, and with an integrated approach to resource management in the NWT we believe we can get this right. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
