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Changes planned for regulatory system

Cara Loverock
Northern News Services
Published Friday, November 9, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - There will be significant changes to the Northern regulatory system.

Wednesday morning Indian Affairs and Northern Development Minister Chuck Strahl announced the implementation of the Northern Regulatory Improvement Initiative.

NNSL Photo/Graphic

Chuck Strahl, minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, looks on while Neil McCrank, appointed the Minister's Special Representative responsible to the advance the Northern Regulatory Improvement Initiative, speaks at a press conference Wednesday morning. - Cara Loverock/ NNSL photo

The federal government will invest $6.6 million over five years to overhaul regulatory systems in the NWT, Nunavut and Yukon, building on existing initiatives including amending the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act, giving authority to the National Energy Board to regulate pipeline access and amending the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act.

"We are committed to see the North realize its full potential," Strahl said of the initiative. "We will work with the North to develop a system that serves the North."

He assured the public that there will not be a reduction in environmental standards.

"It is essential that we maximize the potential benefits of resource-development projects...to do that we must have predictable, effective and efficient regulatory systems across North America," said Strahl in a prepared press release from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada regarding the announcement.

Strahl also announced the appointment of Neil McCrank as the Minister's Special Representative to oversee the initiative.

McCrank will consult with stakeholders in all three territories and submit a report to the federal government outlining proposed recommendations for improvement in the next few months.

"You've got one now that works very well at the moment ... We can make improvements to make it an even better system," McCrank said of the current regulatory system.

McCrank has extensive experience in Alberta's public sector. When asked at the press conference why a Northerner wasn't chosen for the position, Strahl downplayed any concerns and said that experience should be the main priority.

Dave Nickerson, who serves on the board of directors for Canadian Zinc Corporation and Tyhee Development Corporation, said he was pleased at the news of improvements to the current regulatory regime.

He said the current system is not satisfactory.

"It's very complex, very onerous, very time consuming and from the point of view of developers, it's a very negative type of system," said Nickerson.

"They never know when they start a project whether or not they're going to be able to proceed. You just don't know just how long the process is going to take and where it's going to lead."

He said that he hopes Strahl will follow through on the changes that were a long time coming.

Shelagh Montgomery, Yellowknife city councillor and member of Alternatives North agreed that there were changes needed to the regulatory system now in place.

"As someone who has been involved in environmental assessments, I think any suggestion of improving the current regulatory regime is a good one," said Montgomery. "But generally that tends to translate into streamlining of the regulatory regime, which generally then turns into making it easier for proponents to get their projects approved as opposed to having a full analysis of what potential impacts of what a project might be."

In regards to Strahl's comments that there will be no change to environmental standards, Montgomery said, "I don't think that's a significant concern at this time. It's more a question of how the process happens and what kind of tools are in place once a project is approved to monitor."