Thanks to the Premier for that. I think the fundamental change, as I said, was from a publicly accountable institution to behind closed doors. We are looking for transparency whenever we can find it here and particularly given that committee’s being kept absolutely in the dark. So I would appreciate that information.
I guess related to that is a concern that decisions being made will be made by politicians instead of by objective, independent board members who are identified for that purpose. Again, it goes against certainly what the Premier’s been saying, that we are bringing decisions closer to the people and transparency and so on. This is in secret and behind closed doors, so that’s certainly a concern.
The question of royalty and fees for oil and gas are set in regulation and should be reviewed, obviously, to ensure an adequate return to the public once again. I am also concerned about the ability of the Minister to exempt a party from payment of royalties. I think government has a bad record on these sorts of things, especially when, again, decisions are made behind closed doors and in secret. I will look forward to the fleshing out of that and exactly where the authorities are, the limits on that, the role for the public in oversight of that.
The review, I would say, of royalties should include consideration of the bid system where the current approach is based on work. Bid criteria rather than cash bid or other criteria would better serve our communities and the environment. I know the Premier’s made a commitment for review soon, so that can be addressed at that time.
Mention has been made of the Environmental Studies Management Board. Again, the concern in this case is the only eligible people who sit on the board are government employees and individuals, non-native, by the oil and gas interests owners. This hardly seems fair or objective and it’s hard to understand how such a restriction serves the public interest. This part of the bill deserves a serious review to ensure, again, greater accountability and representativeness. I appreciate the information on Section 72 where rates will be set, I believe, in relation to this as well by…(inaudible)… That’s for the royalty fees rates, so I will be following up with that one.
Finally, again, as has been stated for several bills, we need a clear requirement for mandatory financial security to cover all aspects of oil and gas operations in the NWT. This is especially true in terms of accidents, malfunctions, spills and so on. I
don’t believe this bill provides that, but I guess I would ask that question at this time. Is there provision for clear requirement of mandatory financial security to cover those things? Thank you.