Premier opposes Arctic drilling ban
Lack of consultation, economic impact among concerns
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Friday, December 23, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Premier Bob McLeod says he's disappointed the federal government decided to announce an indefinite ban on oil and gas drilling in Arctic waters.
The premier said the devolution of some governance powers from the federal government to the territorial government in 2014 was supposed to allow the territory to make its own decisions.
"We thought with devolution we were long past the point of having unilateral decisions made about the North being made in Ottawa - or in this case Vancouver - that Northerners would be the ones making decisions about issues affecting Northerners," McLeod said in an interview Wednesday.
He was given only two-hours notice via phone from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau before the ban was announced in Vancouver on Tuesday.
"There's an appearance that in order for development to occur in southern Canada, you have to stop development in the North even though there are people that live up here in the North," he said, referring to how Canada has given the go-ahead to pipelines in the south and continues to allow drilling in the Atlantic.
Trudeau also announced the government would begin crafting a new Northern strategy, though that also set off alarms for the premier.
He said the territory is facing immediate needs that cannot wait for a new plan to be developed.
He described Trudeau as "upbeat" on the Tuesday call and said the prime minister understood his concerns.
McLeod said Trudeau agreed to meet with the territorial premiers early in the new year to discuss the issues, a meeting the premier hopes can take place in the North.
Given how the territory's economy is largely dependent on resource extraction, McLeod said there needs to be employment options for residents. The federal move, aimed at protecting the environment, shuts the door on some of those options and creates uncertainty for people in the Beaufort Delta and in the investment community, he said.
Nunavut Premier Peter Taptuna expressed concern in a joint statement from the two territorial leaders Thursday. Taptuna called it an important step for environmental protection but done without participation from the Government of Nunavut.
"It is essential that Nunavummiut are engaged in and are part of the discussions to determine our territory's environmental and economic future," Taptuna stated.
The prime minister defended the move at a news conference in Calgary on Wednesday.
"The issue with Arctic offshore oil and gas exploration was there is nothing currently going on and there hasn't been something visible on the horizon of significant benefit to indigenous communities in the near or even medium-term future," Trudeau said.
