Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have made my Member’s statement on the hydraulic fracking that potentially is going to happen this year in the Sahtu. The company of ConocoPhillips is going to do two exploration wells. With the recent trip to the Bakken formation and seeing the activity down in North Dakota and southeastern Saskatchewan, it certainly was overwhelming. There you can see the different jurisdictions, the different rules that apply in that area, and so it is like the Wild West, really. Up in the Sahtu we have some provisions and some regulations in place, plus we have some time to do it right and do it responsibly.
I am going to ask the Minister of ITI for getting it right and doing it right and doing it responsibly what are types of things we need to look at between now and when Conoco starts their experimental, exploratory hydraulic fracking this winter, so we know that we’re in control, we’re in the driver’s seat on hydraulic fracking in the Northwest Territories.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My belief is we are on the right track when it comes to getting ready and preparing ourselves. Part of that getting ready has been the fact-finding tour to southeastern Saskatchewan and to North Dakota. Also, last year we had another fact-finding mission to Calgary. I think more of the education component has to be front and centre, especially for community leaders, people in the communities in the Sahtu who are going to be most impacted by development. We also need to continue to work with community governments, leaders in the area. We have to continue to work with industry.
In speaking to industry, the Northwest Territories today has the toughest regulations when it comes to oil and gas, and the development of oil and gas, the exploratory drilling of wells. It’s the most costly and most regulated part of North America, from what I understand. We need to ensure that we continue the dialogue and continue to move forward with the sustainable development of our territory. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, with the technology of hydraulic fracking and understanding that there is a risk to the hydraulic fracking, we saw that in the Bakkens and we’re certainly going to see it in the Northwest Territories.
I want to ask the Minister what types of mechanisms are in place right now to limit, to address some of the risks that potentially could happen. It is no different than the people in NASA when they started out to put a man on the moon. There were risks associated with it. It is no different than what we are doing in the Northwest Territories with hydraulic fracking. How are we going to address these risks that this new technology would bring us prosperity or it could bring us devastation?
Mr. Speaker, we have to just continue with developing industry best practices when it comes to developing the resources that we have here in the Northwest Territories. I think that will bode well for us.
There has been a lot of research done on the integrity of wells that have been drilled and fracked. Again, I think it all comes down to putting the facts on the table. I know the United States government has done a great deal of work in that regard in trying to identify any contamination of groundwater from the drilling and fracturing of wells. I don’t believe in a million wells that were looked at that they found one instance of groundwater contamination.
I think the facts really do have to get out there. We will try to get the facts on the table so that the people of the Sahtu, the people of the Northwest Territories can make these decisions as we move forward. Thank you.
Certainly when we were in the east part of the east corner of Saskatchewan, we were actually at a frack site. We were actually in the operation and actually we were fracking. There was no earth shattering water spewing out of the hole. It is actually quite safe. I would like to point to the Minister in terms of having the information out there. Clearly, the facts need to be looked at.
I want to ask the Minister in regards to the employment for our people. In 2010-11 $976,000 was paid to income support clients in the Sahtu. We want to reduce that. How is the Minister going to address the needs in our communities in regards to the employment and the exploration activities in the Sahtu so that we can reduce the income support payments to our members in the Sahtu?
Mr. Speaker, through education and training programs, and opportunities through industry, through government and working in partnership with land corps in the Sahtu, I think that’s how we are going to realize people taking control of their lives and getting opportunities to get jobs and provide for their families. I mentioned it in my Minister’s statement earlier today. We need to do something about the fact that people are on income assistance, and this opportunity that we have in front of us in the Sahtu is a great opportunity, something that if we go about it the right way and we plan for it, I think that the Member and Members of this House will be really impressed with how we can turn this into a real positive story and get people to work in the Sahtu, not only people from the Sahtu but also people from other regions of this territory. They will have work available to them in our territory. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In regards to equality in the Northwest Territories, we see and I’ve read in the newspaper – the Yellowknifer – this morning, that the federal government approved another mine for the Yellowknife area, another diamond mine. So all its benefits, once this mine is approved, this region will see it.
I’m asking the Minister why we don’t have the same type of benefits in the Sahtu region that we know the hydraulic fracking can bring to us. I ask the Minister, would he then seek the guidance of the EDI, maybe working with the EDI committee members to go into the communities and go and look at some of the guidelines to move on the hydraulic fracking.
We need the same opportunity as down here in the Yellowknife area up in the Sahtu. You don’t see our Members talking about the diamond mines in this area.
I ask the Minister, would he look at working with the EDI committee on how to involve people through the education process, in supporting the issue of hydraulic fracking.
Mr. Speaker, fundamental to all this is a diversified economy here in the Northwest Territories. It’s great news that the federal government has approved Gahcho Kue, and that will be very beneficial for the territory and the North Slave region.
There are opportunities elsewhere in this territory. The government has done a lot of work in advancing the Economic Opportunities Strategy where we’re going to talk about how we’re going to diversify the economy with agriculture, forestry, fishing and also tourism. This is an opportunity that’s before us, it’s something we can plan for, it’s something we can work toward, and it’s a very exciting opportunity.
It’s been a good last week here. We also have talk by Imperial about revamping the Mackenzie Gas Project. The prospect of that would have a profound impact on this territory, and certainly the development happening in the Sahtu, the exploration and development, because they’re after the oil that’s in the ground in the Sahtu, but a big by-product of the extraction of that oil is gas. So I think if this gets some legs, the talk again about the Mackenzie Gas Project, it could be very, very big news for this territory. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Menicoche.
