Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As fossil fuel exploration rolls across the Northwest Territories, people are noticing rapid growth and cumulative effects on our land. We have only to look beyond our border into Alberta to see what can happen when we fail to ensure best practices in non-renewable resource development. In view of this, Environment and Natural Resources, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, and Environment Canada are to be commended for their decision to develop NWT guidelines for seismic lines.

Wide and straight seismic lines have environmental consequences, such as the almost complete loss of boreal caribou in Alberta. Yet that appears to be exactly what our ENR is recommending for adoption in the guidelines. Wider lines cause cumulative impacts from habitat fragmentation, direct habitat loss and severely extended recovery time. In contrast, low-impact seismic line widths of three to zero metres alleviate many of the above concerns.

Guidelines are not meant to entrench the status quo or to support poor practices. Rather, they are intended to set the bar, to promote best practices and to increase the chance of achieving management goals.

Compared to other jurisdictions in Canada, the oil and gas industry is relatively new here, with a still modest footprint. There is time to learn from others’ mistakes and provide progressive and meaningful exploration guidelines.

The science is clear. Seismic lines of six-to-eight-metre widths in the lowland black spruce areas of boreal forest in Alberta showed no significant recovery after 35 years. Recovery here, where our boreal forest is even slower growing and more fragile, would be much longer.

To minimize cumulative effects, the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board is recommending meandering seismic lines of widths no greater than 2.5 metres with additional limits on linear density. Yet ENR’s draft guidelines recommend more than double this width, with little recognition of the need for meandering low-density considerations. This is in contrast to Minister Miltenberger’s proclaimed interest in not repeating the mistakes of our southern neighbour and becoming Alberta North.

Mr. Speaker, I recognize that some community contractors may have picked up some old equipment that carves out six-metre-wide and larger seismic lines, but as we know, these impacts are direct, accumulating and extremely long term. A progressive best-practices approach is needed to fulfill our mandate of responsible management for our current and future generations.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

Unanimous consent granted.