Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my statement I talked about the effects of fracking. The consequences of fracking as a development process are becoming more and more evident within Canada and throughout North America. We are starting to become more and more aware of some of the consequences.
My questions are addressed to the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. I would like to ask the Minister what the GNWT is doing to educate itself, its residents and other orders of NWT governments about the effects of fracking. I have to say again that we need the facts on fracks. I would like to know whether or not we are engaging in any research. What are we doing to find out about fracking and the effects it will have on us? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for the question. Obviously this is an issue that we are paying close attention to. Fracking is a practice that has been utilized in Canada since 1990. I think the Member referenced it being banned in some provinces and territories in this country. To my knowledge, that hasn’t happened. It is currently suspended in the province of Quebec, pending environmental review, but to my knowledge it hasn’t been banned in any other province or territory in this country.
I would agree with the Member; I think we have to separate fact from fiction when it comes to fracking and its future utilization in our territory, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
We need to separate frack from fiction, do we? Thank you to the Minister for the comment, but I would like to know what we are doing as a government. Are we engaging in any research? Are we looking into the effect that fracking will have on our northern environment because it is different from other environments? I would like to know whether there are any plans on the part of this government to do some serious research, and once that’s done, to then educate other governments and our residents about it. Thank you.
There’s certainly a lot of potential in the Northwest Territories, both in oil and gas development. In the Sahtu region, certainly across the river from Norman Wells there’s a lot of potential there for oil where fracking could be utilized to extract that oil.
We need to work with the regulators, the NEB. We need to work with AANDC, the federal government and ourselves to come up with a plan. Currently – I know my colleague Minister Miltenberger spoke of this the other day – there is a plan in place to coordinate efforts, to reach out to communities, and it will start in the Sahtu to let people know what fracking is, how it works and what the potential pros and cons of such activity are on the environment. Also, there are economic benefits too.
So I think the balance and weighing those things out will be something that communities across the Northwest Territories will have an opportunity at some point in the near future to have the opportunity to comment on. I can see that type of program reaching out to other communities across the Northwest Territories, but for the immediate future it’s going to start in the Sahtu in the new year. Thank you.
Thanks to the Minister. I didn’t hear much about research. I heard we’re going to look into it; we’re starting in the Sahtu. I think it’s important that we consider that it’s not just the Sahtu; it’s undoubtedly going to end up in the southwestern corner of our territory. So I would urge the Minister, with the Minister of ENR, to go well beyond just the Sahtu.
One of the things that I mentioned in my statement is that I believe it’s a responsibility of government to protect residents, and one of the things that I think we can do as a government, if we feel that there are implications for a particular development, is to act as an intervener in an environmental assessment process. So I would like to know from the Minister whether or not this government will take that role and act as an intervener in an assessment process, should that development come to that. Thank you.
That’s common business practice for us to act as an intervener in environmental assessment. So, going forward, that would be the case. Certainly the more information we have on fracking, the research… I know the department is following it close as are the folks at ENR. We need to know exactly what we’re dealing with and we’re fully intent on finding out what fracking is and, again, weighing the pros against the cons, the economic benefits versus protecting the environment. I think at the end of the day we’ve got a regulatory process in place here in the Northwest Territories that’s going to allow us to do just that.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. I was pleased to hear the Minister earlier say that there will be an opportunity for residents to provide some input, and that’s, I think, a large concern for me and also for many constituents. What avenues will there be in sort of a specific sense for residents to direct their concerns to the government so the government will know what individual residents and/or community governments feel about the process of hydraulic fracturing? Thank you.
Thank you. I would envision the type of outreach and educational program that’s going to be looked at for communities is going to be something people can understand. It’s going to be at a level where people can get a better understanding of what fracking is. As far as residents in the Northwest Territories wanting to provide input, that opportunity, if the meetings get to communities across the territory, people will have that opportunity to provide their input. Again, I think we need to get all the facts on the table and chart a course justly. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
