Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Strategic Oil and Gas Limited, or "Strategic," filed for creditor protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act in April 2019. Strategic operates the Cameron Hills, Northwest Territories project, which includes winter access roads; well sites; oil and gas gathering systems; a small pipeline; an oil and gas battery; a permanent camp; and various incidental activities such as borrow pits, permanent bridges, and sump sites.
The Government of the Northwest Territories has been monitoring and intervening in the ongoing court process to help ensure Northwest Territories interests are represented. A receiver has been
appointed by the court to oversee the Northwest Territories' assets of Strategic. The receiver, Alvarez and Marsal, is to take temporary custody of Strategic's assets in the Northwest Territories, address regulatory obligations, and attempt to sell the Northwest Territories assets, if possible. The proceeds of any sales will be used to cover regulatory obligations and pay company creditors.
In the Northwest Territories, the immediate regulatory obligations are to repair and suspend a leaking well and suspend two other wells by April 1, 2020. There is currently enough money through existing securities to do this work and bring the site into compliance. Until the receivership process has been completed, it is impossible to say what the final costs to remediate the site might be or who would be responsible for covering them.
Strategic's project was approved in 2010, before devolution. At the time it was transferred to the GNWT, Strategic's site was in operation and its permits were in order. The Government of the Northwest Territories had a reasonable expectation that it would continue its operations until it was wound down according to regulatory requirements.
While it is too early to predict the outcome of the ongoing receivership process, the Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to protecting the Northwest Territories' land and environment and ensuring appropriate remediation is carried out on Strategic's sites in the Northwest Territories.
Our government's work to strengthen and improve the Northwest Territories regulatory framework continues, including ongoing work on how we calculate the amount of security we recommend to regulatory boards. The Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to managing development responsibly and protecting the Northwest Territories' land and environment through careful regulation of future projects and taking appropriate responsibility for the consequences of past projects when necessary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.