Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to continue on with my question on the issue of hydraulic fracking. I want to ask the Minister of ITI in his capacity with this information.
I spoke to one of the leaders from Fort Liard. The leader had said that they did have some fracking in his region. Have there been any other types of fracking in the Northwest Territories in the last 15 or 20 years?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe there has been some, but it was not horizontally drilled and fractured but vertically drilled and fractured. I believe there has been some in the Northwest Territories over the past few decades. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the commonality that we have is there have been fracking operations in the Northwest Territories. Vertical, or the new one now we are using is called horizontal, so there has been fracking in the Northwest Territories.
I would like the Minister to provide me with more detailed information as to what type of impacts it had in those regions.
Have there been environmental studies? Is water being studied after that, or the air, the animals? That is so we have some baseline information as to where those actual fracking operations went in the Northwest Territories. Can the Minister do that?
Mr. Speaker, we would be happy to try and get that information together for the Member. Back in the ‘70s near the Northwest Territories/British Columbia border, there was some fracking that took place and, again, at Beaver River. I would be happy to get that information for the Member. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, also I would ask the Minister, given in the time of the ‘70s, what type of authority, what type of working relationship and if it’s possible that when that fracking operation happened at Beaver River. I’m not too sure where exactly it is and what type of impacts we are seeing today in 2014 from that operation even though it is a vertical frack. A frack is a frack is a frack. I want to ask the Minister if that is possible.
Mr. Speaker, all those operations would have been under COGOA back in the ‘70s with the federal government. We will do our best to try to get that information for the Member. Of course, now we are responsible for onshore regulation of oil and gas here in the Northwest Territories. I will make a commitment to the Member that we will try our best to get that information to the Member. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Mr. Speaker, I certainly look for that information. I want to ask my last question to the Minister and to his colleague, that the Sahtu people have a land claim, a constitutionally protected document that was negotiated by the guidance of our elders in the Sahtu to take control of our destiny.
What type of approach is set by this department and this government on another protected area that is protected by the Constitution and jurisdiction as how do we work in relationship with land claim organizations that have these types of protection in regards to decision-making authorities on types of economic opportunities that are in that region?
Mr. Speaker, the land claim is a very powerful tool for the people of the Sahtu and a valuable tool in that I do understand there are subsurface rights included in that land claim. As far as our government is concerned, we need to continue to work with the leadership in the Sahtu, and decisions are going to have to be made together with the people of the Sahtu so that they can get their way forward by working together with us. That is the way things are going to continue to happen. We have a track record of continuing to work with the Member, the leadership in the Sahtu, and we are going to continue down that path. Thank you.
