Natural Resources committee  There is still ice, and there is a fragile environment. At the time, we did ask for environmental protection plans--

Natural Resources committee  When a company files an application with the NEB for authorization to drill, the act and the regulations that you cited stipulate that the company must submit a safety plan, an environmental protection plan and an emergency response plan to address any incidents like the one that just happened.

Natural Resources committee  Mr. Chair, I certainly agree with the premise that the main focus of the regulation of offshore drilling is prevention. Blowout preventers are supposed to work. In one case--that we observe every morning now--we can see that a blowout preventer did not work.

Natural Resources committee  Absolutely not, sir. I can say with a great deal of confidence that the legislation that we administer initially puts the onus on an operator to propose to the National Energy Board why they believe their program is safe, why they believe the public will be protected, why the workers will be protected, and why the environment will be protected.

Natural Resources committee  As I said, the basic attitude of a safety regulator is that you always want to learn from accidents anywhere in the world. Two weeks ago, we did not know what an incident of this kind looked like in the Gulf of Mexico. Today we know. We know how grave it has become. What we don't know is what went wrong.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. The National Energy Board is the federal regulator for offshore oil and gas drilling and production in Canada. At the same time, the areas off the shores of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador are administered by joint federal-provincial offshore petroleum boards.