Evidence of meeting #151 for Indigenous and Northern Affairs in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was c-88.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Michael McLeod Liberal Northwest Territories, NT
Okay. Thank you, and I apologize. I was jumping a little too far ahead on some of this stuff.
I want to ask my next questions to my colleagues in the north, Mayor Merven Gruben and former member of the Legislative Assembly and my colleague Jackie Jacobson.
First of all, we should be clear. The Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act does not apply to the Inuvialuit region, does it? You operate on a different set of rules for Inuvialuit?
Liberal
Michael McLeod Liberal Northwest Territories, NT
I was just waiting to get that on the record.
You're here in your capacity as the Mayor of Tuktoyaktuk and a councillor from Tuktoyaktuk, not here as the Inuvialuit government.
Liberal
Michael McLeod Liberal Northwest Territories, NT
Okay. You've spoken a lot about climate change, and I know that's a big issue. I'm hoping our government will hear more from you on this issue.
My point is to raise the issue of the discussions around devolution. When devolution was being discussed under the previous government, the government of the day did not allow the Beaufort Sea to be included as part of it and it did not allow the Norman Wells oil fields to be included as part of it. There was no allowance for discussion on resource revenue sharing from either of those areas. They have a potential. As you said, there is a big opportunity from the Beaufort Sea to generate revenue in oil and gas.
Jackie, you were there when some of this stuff was taking place. Is this an area of disappointment, that we didn't see it included? It would have brought it under the jurisdiction of a different government.
Councillor, Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Yes, Michael, the government of the day, back a few years ago when this happened in Yellowknife.... We should have had it implemented. It should have come with that agreement, because now we want to be a part of the decisions that are being made.
That's what the hamlet is making sure, that the request can go forward on behalf of IRC, Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, with Duane Smith. I hope this does get put in, because the decisions you are making down here are affecting many people. As I said, there's a tourism boom right now. We have up to 17,000 people coming to Tuk, and we're 1,000 people in the community. It's like a fish bowl.
Now and going forward, the decisions being made on the Beaufort Sea should come to IRC, going through the Hamlet of Tuk. We're open for business in regard to oil and gas. We've been doing it since the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, before they went to the east coast. As my mayor said, come to our community to see what's happening. We did the first access road out to 177 to kick off the all-weather road for the Inuvik-Tuk highway.
You see that there's a great deal of potential, but we don't want to get caught up down here. I'm sorry to put it this way. The decisions you're making are affecting people, and you have to see it to make judgments such as these.
Thanks, Mike.
Mayor, Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk
To carry on with what Michael was saying, we're in the process of making it a port. I'm not going to say a really deep sea port, but we're working on a port and a possible offshore dispensary for natural gas or oil and gas.
Conservative
Conservative
Arnold Viersen Conservative Peace River—Westlock, AB
Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to our guests for being here today.
Your Worship, you've been fairly outspoken on the drilling moratorium, for sure. This bill has two pieces to it. It allows for more drilling moratoriums. We've heard that there's been a limited amount of investment going on in the Beaufort Sea area, so putting in a drilling moratorium hasn't really had any effect because there's been no activity up there. Could you just talk a bit about the hope that is taken away when a drilling moratorium is put in place?
What is the value of the natural gas and oil resource up in that area? Could you also comment on what the Americans are doing just a few hundred kilometres away?
Mayor, Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk
Never mind the Americans. It's what the Russians and everybody else in the world is doing except Canada.
Having said that, with the lack of interest that's happening in our part of the Arctic, of course it's going to be quiet. There's a moratorium. Nobody's going to be going up and doing any exploration or work up there.
We were really looking forward to this. There was a $1.2-billion deal here that Imperial Oil and BP did not that far out of Tuk, and we were looking forward to them exploring that and possibly drilling, because we have the all-weather highway there. What better place to be located?
In terms of money, it's hard to put any terms on oil and gas up there.
Conservative
Arnold Viersen Conservative Peace River—Westlock, AB
In Alberta, we know the oil sands are a $2-trillion asset sitting there. Is there any idea what the value of the Beaufort Sea oil is?
Mayor, Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk
I couldn't hazard a guess, but it's in the trillions, I'm sure. We're sitting on trillions of natural gas as it is right now. All the oil companies are doing right now is just coming up there, checking their wells and seeing what's going on, which is absolutely nothing. We're just trying to do as much as we can to encourage business to come back because we're open for business.
Conservative
Arnold Viersen Conservative Peace River—Westlock, AB
Mr. Wright, I saw you nodding your head a moment ago. Were you in agreement with that, or was it something else entirely?
Legal Counsel, Gwich'in Tribal Council
Which part were you asking about agreement on?
Conservative
Arnold Viersen Conservative Peace River—Westlock, AB
He was saying about the Beaufort Sea development that there was a $1.2-billion investment coming up there that is no longer.
Legal Counsel, Gwich'in Tribal Council
I'll leave it to Mayor Gruben to comment on that, but certainly, the slowdown in the western Arctic region is shared in the Gwich'in settlement area as well.
Conservative
Arnold Viersen Conservative Peace River—Westlock, AB
Is there a particular reason why none of your comments were directed to the second half of the bill?
Legal Counsel, Gwich'in Tribal Council
As the previous member pointed out, the MVRMA applies in the Gwich'in settlement area but not in the Inuvialuit settlement region, so our comments, and indeed the consultation on Bill C-88 with GTC, have been focused almost entirely on part 1.
Conservative
Arnold Viersen Conservative Peace River—Westlock, AB
Okay.
Do they not want to comment, or do they just not have an opinion?
Legal Counsel, Gwich'in Tribal Council
I'm just not prepared to share a comment today on part 2 of Bill C-88.
Conservative
Arnold Viersen Conservative Peace River—Westlock, AB
Okay.
Going back to Mayor Gruben, you aren't covered by those boards. Is that the understanding?
Mayor, Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk
We're here entirely as the Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk. We're not speaking for anybody else.
Conservative
Arnold Viersen Conservative Peace River—Westlock, AB
Does the Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk have to apply to these particular boards?
Mayor, Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk
No. As I said, we used to be just an oil and gas town, and we're hoping for things to come back. That's why I'm here.
