Environment Committee on May 15th, 2007

[Simon Knight]

I think maybe you're asking two things here. First, who has the regulatory responsibility? That's the provinces. Two, who has the moral responsibility for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the country? I don't think you can say that belongs with one single jurisdiction. That's why I'm suggesting that work on moving this technology forward is going to be required from all levels of government.

[Dr. David Keith]

Part of the problem here is that you regulate two things. Local safety regulation is, and I think should be, handled by the provinces and even municipalities, on levels of siting. But national regulations are needed, in concert with the provinces, to manage emissions to the atmosphere.

[Prof. Malcolm Wilson]

I would agree with David on that one.

[The Chair, Conservative, Bob Mills]

Mr. Vellacott, you have 10 seconds.

[Maurice Vellacott, Conservative, Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK]

Mark, Simon, Dave, same question. I just want to know your sense of this.

And “jurisdiction” is the term I'm using; I'm avoiding...and kind of bridging here.

[Dave Hassan]

I would agree with Mark. The provincial regulations in place in Alberta and Saskatchewan, and with which I'm familiar, are very competent, very sound in terms of regulating the oil and gas industry, which includes injection of CO₂. I think those regulations are sound. They could regulate the actual storage operation.

[The Chair, Conservative, Bob Mills]

We have a couple of minutes.

Monsieur Lussier, please.

[Marcel Lussier, Bloc, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Hassan, how many people are served by the 180 square kilometre Weyburn oil field?

[Dave Hassan]

Weyburn is a town of around 10,000 people. That area is primarily agricultural, such as ranching and grain. We employ about 120 people working on the project directly.

[Marcel Lussier, Bloc, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Does the public participate in the decision-making or the impact studies regarding these projects?

[Dave Hassan]

Yes. Before the project was launched, as part of the provincial regulatory process, there was an extensive public review and public consultation process.

[Marcel Lussier, Bloc, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Who is responsible for informing the public of any dangers involving the wells? Is this the responsibility of departments, of pressure groups, of the industry?

[Dave Hassan]

The communication about the project is a joint responsibility between the operator, EnCana, and the provincial regulatory authority, Saskatchewan Industry and Resources.

[Marcel Lussier, Bloc, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Knight, would you agree?

[Simon Knight]

Yes, it's in Saskatchewan, so it's in a separate jurisdiction from Alberta, but I understand that's the reporting structure.

[Marcel Lussier, Bloc, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Are the Environment or the Natural Resources Departments responsible for informing the public?

[Bill Reynen]

Yes, we do. We see that it's important to have an open and transparent process in assessing this technology. And we do support studies in terms of public surveys and try to develop information and make it available to the public.

[Marcel Lussier, Bloc, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Have you intervened with regard to the Weyburn project? Have you sent out teams to inform the public?

[Bill Reynen]

Not the Weyburn project, no. It's not project specific, but just technology in general.

[The Chair, Conservative, Bob Mills]

Thank you, Mr. Lussier.

I certainly would like to thank our guests. This reminded me of about 30 years ago, sitting at the oil sands hearings before there were oil sands and hearing that the costs would be $30 barrel, that it would be uneconomical, that it couldn't happen, and so on. I think we're maybe hearing about how, with the development of technology, things can improve.

So I want to thank all of you. Thank you to our two witnesses who were on the phones, and thank you, members.

The meeting is adjourned.