Thank you, Mr. Chair. The
Member is correct as to the joint review panel; we expect their report in January 2009. I guess I should point out that the pipeline hearings were very long and complex. It took at least two years to
hold all the hearings. Our expectation is that the report will be fairly technical and complex in nature.
The process would be that the report would be transferred to the National Energy Board to review, so there’s a requirement for outside legal advice for the National Energy Board participation. As the Member knows, the National Energy Board is a federal regulatory tribunal before whom legal representation is required.
This particular area of law is very specialized. For that reason, it’s not as if we can just pick up expertise here and there. It’s something we think we’ve spent a lot of time developing since applications were filed in October 2004. We would have no capacity to do preparatory work for the NEB and other matters that come before us. For example, there is an application for facilities required to connect the Mackenzie Valley pipeline to the TransCanada pipeline corporation’s main hub. For example, the Vardie and Dickins Lake connections are before the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board and require monitoring by the GNWT.
I guess that’s the main area. The specific responsibilities of the pipeline regulatory specialist are to provide technical, legal and policy advice and assistance to the government. It’s also responsible to assist external legal counsel in representing the Government of the Northwest Territories. Specific responsibilities are to review and develop policies related to the development of the Mackenzie Gas Project so that our government can effectively engage in these hearings.
So it’s expertise that we’ve spent a lot of time developing, and it’s important for us to keep in-house. Thank you, Mr. Chair.