Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Premier in follow-up to my Member’s statement today. The Premier is aware of all the ways the residents of the NWT have expressed their grave concerns about fracking, the impacts of fracking and the need for thorough and inclusive review as so many jurisdictions are doing.
This government has devolved authorities to give Northerners more voice, according to the Premier, yet they are clearly being stifled by our own government who refuses to hear them.
Given the failure to penetrate this government’s comprehension to date, what will the Premier do to show that we are not as colonial as the evidence would suggest, that Northerners do indeed have a voice and that their call for review will be heard? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Sustainable economic development is a priority for the Government of the Northwest Territories. With devolution, as the Member points out, our Government of the Northwest Territories is taking on a greater role in creating our future and guiding the Northwest Territories economy. We strive for balanced development where we have development while protecting the environment.
In the North the regulatory system flows from land claim agreements with land and water boards, with representatives of the federal, territorial and Aboriginal governments tasked with making decisions on behalf of Northwest Territories residents.
As we’ve said many times, we will be coming out with draft regulations that will deal with oil and gas that will be available for public input and it will be circulated widely. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
That certainly confirms that Northerners’ voices are not being heard. According to an EKOS poll last week, 70 percent of Canadians, regardless of political affiliation, support a fracking moratorium “until it is scientifically proven to be safe.” Significant numbers of Northerners want the same thing, or at least a comprehensive review. GNWT departments have authority because the MVRMA calls for an environmental review if there “might be public concern.”
What expression from the public is required for the Premier to finally listen to the people and ensure a thorough, transparent and public environmental review of fracking which includes the fundamental question “should we accept the risks of fracking,” not just how are we going to frack? Mahsi.
In the Northwest Territories we are working on fracking regulations which will reflect best practices of the industry. We’ve also inherited guidelines from the National Energy Board which deals with hydraulic fracking. In the Northwest Territories’ regulatory system, the appropriate land and water board conducts preliminary screening and our government respects the decisions of the land and water boards. Also, we continue to assess how we best use our new authorities in the Northwest Territories.
I’m very confident that when the draft regulations come out, it will be discussed widely and we will get substantial input. As far as I know, the Government of the Northwest Territories has not violated Section 125 of the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act. Thank you.
There are provisions made, not as a matter of respect, by these organizations, such as land and water boards, for the Government of the Northwest Territories departments to call for environmental review. It’s not a matter of respect; in fact that provision is there. We can use it anytime we want.
Mark Carney, ex-governor of the Bank of Canada and current governor of the Bank of England, recently stated at a seminar at the World Bank that fossil fuel companies cannot burn their existing reserves of oil and gas if the oil is to avoid catastrophic climate change. We know what this means for our families – it’s happening now – and our children and what this means around the globe to people who do not have all the privileges that we have.
Exploitation of ever more fossil fuels endangers the people, land and water of the Northwest Territories. The recent pullout of industry from the Sahtu for a year or more provides time for thoughtful review. On what basis does this government presume they can do what nobody else has done? Studies come in every day proving impacts; frack without significant and unpredicted indeed would never happen impacts. How can we do this and thus refuse a public review? What an assumption. What a presumption, Mr. Speaker.
I didn’t hear a question there, but I will respond in kind. In our opinion, the Sahtu Land and Water Board dealt with the application. There is no drilling going on anywhere in the Northwest Territories right now. We as a government are developing draft oil and gas regulations that will be put to the public early in the new year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess the public will not hear what our presumption is, the basis for our presumption that we can do everything right. The Premier mentioned best practices that we subscribe to. Let’s just look at what best practices have gotten other jurisdictions. California’s pristine aquifers have recently been done in by produced water that supposedly could never enter their portable aquifers that they relied on. Studies now prove that supposedly cleaner fuels produced by fracking like gas and liquid natural gas, which the Premier is pushing for all our communities, have greenhouse gas emissions as bad as or worse than coal. New information is amassing daily.
For my last question, Mr. Speaker, I have to ask this on behalf of the people of the Northwest Territories. Why? Why is this government afraid to conduct the required review? The Premier, in his statement today, said it’s not the money. So why are we saying no to our people when so many jurisdictions are realizing the necessity for a reasonable look at the controversial practice of fracking? Mahsi.
When you talk to the industry where bids were accepted for work in the Sahtu that have decided to work elsewhere, when we talked to the industry, they indicated they were collecting baseline information. So if they ever decide to come back north, they will have necessary baseline information that will reflect the best practices of drilling and that before they actually do the drilling, in this case we’re looking at trying to determine the size of the oil and gas reserves that are there, that they will have all the necessary information when and if they do decide to come back. Right now there is no drilling going on anywhere in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
