Mr. Speaker, the details of the financial offer presented to the project proponents on January 19, 2009 have not been made public as they are subject to cabinet confidence and will be part of a formal negotiation process between the Government of Canada and the Mackenzie gas project, MGP, proponents.
As owner of the resource, the Government of Canada has a role to play in ensuring that, if the project proceeds it unfolds in a manner that provides maximum benefits to Canadians from all perspectives: business, socio-economic and environmental. In particular, commercializing Canada’s vast northern gas resources would greatly accelerate the economic development of the NWT and aboriginal communities, consistent with the government’s northern strategy and sovereignty objectives; generate significant GDP impacts across Canada; and offset the forecast decline of the western Canadian sedimentary basin, thereby enhancing Canada’s energy security. The Government of Canada, however, has been clear that the MGP is a commercial venture and that the ultimate decision as to whether the project proceeds rests with the private sector.
It has been estimated that the range of potential GDP impacts that would result from the development of the MGP would be $40 billion to $150 billion over 30 years, direct and indirect GDP impacts, depending on the extent of induced development, with employment gains ranging from 107,000 to 280,000 person-years. Furthermore, all provincial and territorial economies would benefit from the increased demand for materials and labour during the construction and operation phases of the project, and from the induced gas exploration and development activity it is expected to generate.