Natural Resources committee  I would like to clarify a few things. Authorizing the various activities is the responsibility of the offshore Boards or of the NEB. Environmental assessments have to be carried out before work can proceed. They also have to be done by the private sector. Typically, they include

Natural Resources committee  As Mr. Corey mentioned, we are closely monitoring the review. My people will be involved in the Arctic review. My group is also following the various studies and reviews currently undertaken in the US in order to see what can be learned to improve the regulations and, later, to p

Natural Resources committee  The various reports have different timetables but are not expected before the end of the year. The report of the commission...

Natural Resources committee  It's something the Offshore Petroleum Board would be able to comment on.

Natural Resources committee  In terms of being able to comment on that, I guess those are based on studies that Chevron has indicated, and if that's the report that it did submit to the offshore board, then yes, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment on Chevron's--

Natural Resources committee  It's for its responsibilities under the NEB Act; and Mimi just pointed out that under its responsibilities under COGOA, which applies to offshore oil and gas, the NEB does not recover from the private sector.

Natural Resources committee  If you look at the broader regime, the companies are responsible for preventing, mitigating, and managing the spill. If they cause a spill, they must clean it up and pay for losses and damage under federal legislation. So in the accord areas, it would be under the accord act, an

Natural Resources committee  There is what is termed absolute liability, so without having to prove fault, the offshore boards and the National Energy Board can access those amounts. In the case of accord areas, that amount is fixed at $30 million, and in the north—I'll turn to Mimi—it is $40 million. With

Natural Resources committee  The amounts were set in the 1980s. I will talk about the offshore boards and then ask my colleague from the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development to describe the process in the north. Financial responsibility is set out in the guidelines established by the offsh

Natural Resources committee  I will give you a brief description of how things are done in areas where there are agreements with the provinces. I would ask my colleague from Indian Affairs to describe the process in the north. In his presentation, Mr. Corey indicated that the offshore boards will conduct st

Natural Resources committee  In terms of the number of spills, under the legislation each spill needs to be reported to the regulators, the three boards: the National Energy Board and the two offshore boards. These spills have to be tracked, and the offshore boards could provide the details in terms of the n