Just a quick comment here, Mr. Chair. The issue I have with this department would be the responsibility in regard to our water management and the role that the government is going to assume after April 1st . But even as we
speak, Imperial Oil has applied to renew its water licence in the Norman Wells operation. It will be a 10-year licence.
I want to ask what type of role the government is going to play in the process of Imperial Oil seeking the renewal of their water licence from the Mackenzie River that has been done in the past.
Their 10-year licence expired so they are seeking another 10-year water licence. The water will be, of course, taken from the Mackenzie River. Doing the calculations, roughly estimating that they’re going to, over the 10-year period, request about three billion litres of water from the Mackenzie for a 10-year period for their operation. Once it goes through the water treatment processing plant in Norman Wells, they are going to be putting 1.5 billion litres of water back into the Mackenzie.
I want to ask this department, through its Water Management Strategy, for the quality of the water that’s going back into the Mackenzie River, is there any thought of working with the community of Fort Good Hope to look at a water monitoring station close to the community, because their drinking water comes out of the Mackenzie. I know this is going through the process now in the Sahtu and for the community to be concerned of the quality of their water and it not only stops in Fort Good Hope, it goes down to Tsiigehtchic and down to the Beaufort Sea.
Is there any type of insurance or some type of plan in place that the community could look at a water monitoring station? They have been asking for some time in light of Imperial Oil putting back 1.5 billion litres of water.