There was also concern of monitoring, and as I also mentioned, the wastewater disposal sites that we have in the Northwest Territories, do we even have any, which got me thinking about our transboundary water agreements that we have with Alberta and BC. If Alberta and BC are doing hydraulic fracturing and they’re lowering their water levels, can that have an impact here in the Northwest Territories? Last summer we just witnessed the lowest water levels on record here in the Northwest Territories. If we do go ahead and proceed with hydraulic fracturing, how much of that water is going to be used up, and how is it going to affect the communities down the Mackenzie River?
I just wanted to mention that the department did propose new regulations and four new requirements to meet northern priorities. I won’t get into the detail of them, but one big concern was with the hydraulic fracturing: Why is the government moving forward with regulations when we don’t have all groups and Aboriginal groups on board? That really caught my attention.
I will be asking questions to the Minister of ITI later on at these public engagements.