Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Indian Oil and Gas Canada has no real concerns with the proposed amendment. The oil- and gas-producing first nations we have been working with for the past ten years have been involved throughout the process, and they will continue to be involved in the consultation process.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  No.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The CPRA is a good piece of legislation. It was reviewed in our process to develop Bill C-5. The issues that were raised at this table were in relation to the assessment and reassessment process that's in the CPRA, which we have built into Bill C-5—but in the development of regul

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  When the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development was here last week, he talked about a continuous change process. That process was developed jointly with first nations, so we could make regulations that would be looked at and amended on a continuous basis, rather tha

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  On the downstream aspect of oil and gas operations, the bill is quite specific that it relates to exploration and exploitation of oil and gas only. Those downstream operations, such as refining, as you heard earlier, are important to some first nations. And there are other areas

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I think the environmental protection area is quite important to this bill. Right now the existing Indian Oil and Gas Act and regulations contain extremely limited requirements in the area of environmental protection, such as abandonment of wells, reclamation of wells, remediation

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Well abandonment is an issue right now for Indian Oil and Gas Canada. As I said, we don't have a good, strong set of laws in place under the existing regime. Under Bill C-5 we have the ability to make regulations that would give us a wide range of federal tools to ensure that com

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It's not managed through the Indian Oil and Gas Act; it's managed through section 64 of the Indian Act.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We have added into Bill C-5 a federal limitation period that was as a result of the TOPGAS lawsuit. It was found in that lawsuit that because there was no limitation period, the courts applied the provincial limitation period. In that case, I believe it was four years at the time

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  They told us they don't want the fiduciary obligation or the responsibility that comes with any decisions made by a first nation, yes.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Perhaps I could add some clarity to that. We've been having consultations with first nations, as you heard, for about 10 years now. One of the overriding concerns we've heard from each and every first nation throughout this process has been this: don't change the fiduciary relat

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  On the Stoney Nakoda proposed amendments, I'd just like to make a couple of comments. Since we first started this process back in 1998, Stoney Nakoda Nation has been a key part of our consultations. They've been a key part of all committees that we've put together. They are a si

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It would be extremely difficult, I think, for us to support that type of amendment, simply because we would view it as a disincentive for the oil and gas industry. It would introduce another form of approvals. It would bring in some uncertainty to the process from the industry in

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, I would add just one more comment. The ability of a first nation to cancel a lease is an option for them right now under the First Nations Oil and Gas and Moneys Management Act. If a first nation went that route and were to opt into that piece of legislation, they would have

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  For this legislation to apply, a first nation would have to designate their lands by the Indian Act. They would have to go through a vote process to designate their lands for oil and gas development. So under a land claim a first nation may have the right to do that or not. It de