Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Wednesday, March 05, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - The NWT wants a say in public consultations getting underway in Alberta on oil sands development.

"We are looking for more of an opportunity for a voice for the NWT in the process," said Bob Bailey, the deputy minister of Environment and Natural Resources.

In October, Bailey e-mailed a request for an NWT role to the chair of the Oil Sands Multistakeholder Committee, Oil Sands Consultations.

As a result of that and other correspondence, Jay Nagendran, the assistant deputy minister responsible for oil sands environmental management with Alberta Environment, will visit Yellowknife on March 14.

Bailey said the visit is "definitely" a step in the right direction.

Discussions will be held with Nagendran about how the NWT can become part of the consultations in Alberta.

"My hope would be that the NWT would be able to put its views forward to that consultation process," Bailey said, adding the March 14 meeting will be a chance to "learn the mechanics" of the consultations.

Bailey said the NWT government and communities are concerned about the impact on the Mackenzie River basin by oil sands development now and in the future. "There is a lot that we need to understand of what Alberta is doing."

The deputy minister hopes the NWT will be able to find a window into the consultation process, perhaps by gaining intervenor status.

In his correspondence with the Alberta government, Bailey said NWT residents have the potential to be affected by oil sands development in a variety of ways: environmentally, socially, economically, and culturally.

The deputy minister said the Alberta consultations, led by a committee of senior civil servants, will recommend a vision for oil sands developments and principles to assist in guiding future policy directions. "When setting these policy directions, it will be important that the NWT is given due consideration," he wrote.

Bailey noted development of the oil sands is already causing major concern in the NWT.

For example, water levels in the Slave River were very low over the last year, likely a combination of drought and the oil sands' use of massive amounts of water from the upstream Athabasca River.

"These changes in water levels result in changes in wetland ecosystems, freeze-up and break-up times, waterfowl and furbearer habits, and possibly even the frequency and intensity of forest fires, all of which result in impacts to the lives of NWT residents," Bailey wrote.

Residents are also concerned about possible pollution.