Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues.
Public Hearings by the Regulator in Bill 37
Bill 37 proposes that the regulator be authorized to hold public hearings, however, leaves it to the discretion of the regulator to determine when a public hearing would be in the public interest. Committee members discussed regulatory practices in the Northwest Territories, where public hearings are obligatory. In resource development, thresholds are set, for example, for various types of water use and waste disposal, which determine when public hearings must be advertised and conducted.
Committee is of the view that the regulator should establish a threshold to identify when public hearings should be conducted. This would create consistency and certainty for applicants and other stakeholders as to when public hearings must take place. It would also allow consistency with other regulators and their approach.
Committee prepared a motion proposing that a subclause be added to require that the regulator issue and publish guidelines setting out the circumstances in which a public hearing must be held. The Minister did not concur on this motion.
Clause-by-Clause Review of Bills 36 and 37
The clause-by-clause review of the bill was held on August 2, 2019. The committee thanks the honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, and members of his staff, for their appearance before the committee.
At this meeting, the committee moved six separate motions to amend Bill 36, which were all concurred with by the Minister. Committee moved two separate motions to amend Bill 37, and one found concurrence by the Minister.
Committee moved the following motions to amend Bill 36:
Motion 1:
That clause 4 of Bill 36 be amended:
(a) in proposed clause 18 by striking out
"must be published in the Northwest Territories Gazette and in any other publication the Minister considers appropriate" and substituting "must be published in a timely manner in the Northwest Territories Gazette and on a website maintained by the department responsible for the administration of this act"; and
(b) in that portion of proposed clause 18.1 preceding paragraph (a), by striking out
"shall make publicly available" and substituting "shall publish, in a timely manner, on a website maintained by the department responsible for the administration of this act."
The motion was carried, and the Minister concurred. The bill will be amended accordingly.
Motion 2:
That clause 4 of Bill 36 be amended by adding the following after proposed clause 18.1:
8.2. A report prepared by the Minister under section 98 shall include a list of
(a) the notices published under section 18; and
(b) the information made available to the public under section 18.1.
The motion was carried and the Minister concurred. The bill will be amended accordingly.
Motion 3:
That clause 9 of Bill 36 be amended in that portion of proposed subclause 32(4) preceding paragraph (a), by striking out "extend the term of a significant discovery licence if" and substituting "extend the term of a significant discovery licence, for one or more terms of 15 years, if."
The motion was carried, and the Minister concurred. The bill will be amended accordingly.
Motion 4:
That clause 14 of Bill 36 be amended by striking out subclause (5) and substituting the following:
(5) Notwithstanding subsections (2) to (4), if the number of members of the board is fixed
(a) at five or less, the Minister shall appoint one member of the public to the board; or
(b) at six or more, the Minister shall appoint two members of the public to the board.
The motion was carried, and the Minister concurred. The bill will be amended accordingly.
Motion 5:
That clause 16 of Bill 36 be amended in proposed subclause 91(1) in the proposed definition "hydraulic fracturing fluid information" by adding the following after paragraph (k):
(k.1) the total volume of fluid, in cubic metres, recovered from the well,
The motion was carried, and the Minister concurred. The bill will be amended accordingly.
Motion 6:
That clause 16 of Bill 36 be amended by adding the following after proposed subclause 91(9):
(9.1) A report prepared by the Minister under section 98 shall include a list of the information made available to the public by the Minister under this section.
The motion was carried, and the Minister concurred. The bill will be amended accordingly.
Committee moved the following motions to amend Bill 37:
Motion 1:
That clause 5 of Bill 37 be amended by renumbering proposed clause 19.1 as subclause 19.1(1) and adding the following after that renumbered subclause:
(2) The regulator shall issue and publish guidelines setting out the circumstances in which a public hearing must be held.
The motion was carried by committee. The Minister did not concur. Not carried.
Motion 2:
That clause 7 of Bill 37 be amended in proposed subclause 22(1) in the proposed definition "hydraulic fracturing fluid information" by adding the following after paragraph (k):
(k.1) the total volume of fluid, in cubic metres, recovered from the well,
The motion was carried, and the Minister concurred. The bill will be amended accordingly.
Now I will turn the reading of this report over to the honourable Member for Yellowknife North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.