Thank you, Mr. Chair. I’d like to continue my comments. I’ve listed a number that I’m hoping the government will fight for as some of the mandatory steps.
Regarding cost to government, the mitigation of social and environmental impacts resulting from the project will involve huge costs. I have urged our Ministers for some months to supply their estimate of the increased program costs that would result from the project and I ask for this again now. I’m sure the people of the Northwest Territories would love to hear this; they’ve been asking too.
The lack of participation, real participation and response of this government is incredible on this issue. I’ve also urged this government to enter into immediate negotiations with the federal government to identify and secure the major new sources of funds that will be available.
For the future, this government must vigorously support and pursue immediate negotiations on recommendation 15.11: “The governments of Canada and the Northwest Territories and the Aboriginal Summit continue negotiations towards settlement of an NWT-based resource revenue sharing agreement on a priority basis, and that such an agreement be finalized in advance of the National Energy Board granting the proponents Leave to Open. If an agreement is not concluded by that time, the panel recommends that the Government of Canada set aside 50 percent of the non-renewable resource royalty revenues it receives from the Mackenzie Gas Project to be held in trust for the Government of the Northwest Territories and aboriginal authorities until such time as a resource revenue sharing agreement has been concluded.”
With this recommendation, the JRP has expressed the need for and desirability of the future assumption of resource revenue sharing by the territorial government. It is powerful recognition in support of this government’s aspirations and must be insisted by this government and in its full detail.
My time is brief and I’ll make short closing comments on the economic benefits and workforce development matters dealt with in the report and on this government’s completion of a socioeconomic agreement with the proponents. The SEA, in short, is not good enough by a long shot. It is, for example: not linked to a larger vision of sustainable future for the NWT; it does not contain even a general statement of support from the proponent on
devolution or revenue sharing; it does not contain hard and fast guarantees of economic benefits for citizens of the NWT; contains no sanctions or penalties if the proponent does not meet its voluntary employment procurement, training or other commitments; is unclear how the proponents’ targets apply to contractors and subcontractors; contains no firm residence requirement or commitments to affirmative action for women; contains weak, under-resourced and ineffectual monitoring provisions; and is little more than an update of commitments made by the proponents themselves in 2004.
Now that the details of the JRP report are known, we can proceed more intelligently towards negotiations of a meaningful specific agreement for ensuring socioeconomic benefits for our residents. We should do this in light of today’s announcement, as I understand it, that the Beaufort-Delta Health Board has been disbanded today reflecting once again our capacity challenges. And we’re going to ramp things up?