Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about the observation made by Thomas Edison, who is a well-known inventor who had trials and tribulations before he got the incandescent light right. I want to talk about the issue of technology called hydraulic fracking. I will direct my questions to the Minister of ITI on this issue in the Sahtu.
No matter what we saw in the Bakken and the east corner of Saskatchewan, is the Minister looking at some sort of a checklist in the social, environmental, cultural and economics when we look at fracking in the Sahtu. Do you check that yes, we have the baseline, we have support from families, we have the economics, we have everything right and then we can proceed? Is there going to be a checklist, a go or no-go on fracking?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One thing is for sure and that is we have to do our homework, and part of the trip to southeastern Saskatchewan and into the Bakken was to do some of that homework, educate ourselves on the process of hydraulic fracturing, as was the case last year when we went to Calgary, went to a lab there and got time in front of the regulator in Alberta and also the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission that happened in Calgary last year.
We need to ensure that we do everything we can to make an informed decision as a government, as a people. I mentioned it yesterday, the aspirations of the people of the Sahtu, the aspirations of the people of the Northwest Territories, those aspirations have to be handled by us, not influenced by others who do not live in the Northwest Territories, do not call the Northwest Territories home and have really – other than an opinion – not much to add to our future economic aspirations as a territory and as a people, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
My earlier comments in my Member’s statement talked about the Sahtu being on the verge of the next energy driver in Canada. I want to say to the Minister, with this type of potential in the Sahtu, is the Minister working with his colleagues with regard to preparing the Sahtu to take on this initiative, that things are in place for training, for child care, for education and for the environment, for all these things that we can say yes, we feel comfortable that everything has been encompassed, that we can go ahead to the next stage in hydraulic fracking. Is that a project that he’s willing to consider bringing to the House and saying we have it done, we have it right?
Let me be as clear as I can be – and I’ve mentioned it before – without the use of hydraulic fracking, there will be no development in the Sahtu, there will be no jobs or opportunities. That is why it’s critically important that we get this right. I know other Members have mentioned this; we can’t afford to get it wrong. We have to do everything we can, and certainly from the inception of the development, the activity that’s taken place in the Sahtu, this government has taken that opportunity very seriously. We’ve met a number of times. I know through the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, we’ve had readiness sessions in the area. We’ve also had community sessions. We’ve done a lot of upfront work. I know I’ve impressed upon all of Cabinet what the opportunities are there, and I know we’re working as a team to ensure that we’re doing our best to get ready for what is coming.
We have to allow the exploration, the drilling of some of these wells to get a better determination of what is in the ground in the Sahtu, and certainly a lot of industry experts believe there are billions of barrels of oil in the ground in the central Mackenzie Valley and we need to let that happen so that we can get to a point where companies can make a decision and the people of the Northwest Territories can make a decision on whether or not we’re going to develop that resource.
Certainly the people in the Sahtu do realize the opportunity that lies right in their backyard on our land. What I’m asking the Minister of ITI is: Is there going to be some sort of a comprehensive checklist? Families who want to go work, there’s the high cost of living. So we need daycares in our communities, Deline, Good Hope, Tulita, Norman Wells, Colville Lake. We need to provide training opportunities in the Sahtu.
Will the Minister be coming forward to say this is a comprehensive checklist so that we can take advantage of the opportunity of hydraulic fracking in the Sahtu? We know that. I want to ask the Minister again, is that something he can look at within the life of this government and prepare our people for the opportunity that we see.
Thank you. Certainly the government in its interdepartmental exercise when it comes to preparing ourselves for the development in the Sahtu, that work has happened already. If the Member is looking for a checklist, we can certainly develop a checklist. But the most important thing here is the people in the Northwest Territories will be making those decisions on whether or not development happens in the central Mackenzie Valley, and central to that is the fact that the people of the Sahtu should have, should they choose to have the aspirations to develop those resources, the same, not people in Vancouver and Toronto. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was in Norman Wells over the weekend and I know that our people want to work. We are the ones on our land in the Sahtu. We’ll make that decision on frack or no frack.
Now, I just want to ask the Minister, regarding this checklist, is he looking at something this winter on the Mackenzie Valley winter road with the state of our winter roads. They’re going to be hauling out some chemicals on that winter road. Is the Minister going to look at some type of funding that would make sure that it will be safe so that these trucks can drive out and we’ll know that for sure there’s going to be no environmental impacts if there’s a spill on our winter roads? Thank you.
Thank you. We’ve had a long history of working with industry in the area. We will continue to work with industry so that we can get the requisite investment by industry to enable us to enhance the winter road. Through the Department of Transportation, we’ve done a lot of work on mapping. I know the Member and I drove the winter road last year. There’s a map that’s been developed. We’re improving the road itself, putting in a number of bridges and crossings there.
We will continue to try to improve the safety of that road, not just for industry but for the travelling public, and we continue to do that. Also, we are looking at some further enforcement and the provision of highway officers in the area this coming season. We are looking at the possibility of close to 80 to 90 million dollars being spent in the area this winter. So it’s important. There’s going to be a number of trucks traversing that road again this winter, so it’s important that we put all these steps in place to ensure that it is done in a safe manner. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
