Ministers Must Veto Bids

Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 14:25:19 -0400 (AST)
From: Mark Butler <ar427@chebucto.ns.ca>
To: sust-mar@chebucto.ns.ca
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19 November, 2001
Ministers Must Veto Bids

The Ecology Action Centre is asking the Federal Minister of Natural
Resources, Ralph Goodale, and the Minister for Nova Scotia Petroleum
Directorate, Gordon Balser, to veto the issuance of nine new exploration
licences for the offshore. The Centre is citing the release on November 8
of a House of Commons Committee report highly critical of the licencing
process and the decision by the Province on November 15 to relieve the
Board of its health and safety duties.  

"The Ministers must read and act on the recommendations of the all party
Committee and veto the bids and reform the licencing process," urges Mark
Butler. "If they don't it will just emphasize that the Board is more
responsive to the oil and gas industry, than a democratic body, like the
House of Commons Committee."

Bidding for the nine licences (as well as comments from other
stakeholders) closed on November 1 and the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore
Petroleum Board announced their acceptance of the bids the following day.
The Ministers have up to 30 days in which to veto the bids.

During the bidding process fishing and environmental groups raised
concerns about nearly all of the licences. The licences cover or are close
to environmentally sensitive areas, such as the Sable Island Gully and the
Stone Fence, close to economically important areas such as Georges Bank,
and 7 of the licences are in the Eastern Scotian Shelf Integrated
Management Project area-a new DFO zoning initiative under the Oceans Act.

On Friday the Nova Scotia Government introduced legislation to better
clarify and define jurisdiction over health and safety issues in the
offshore. For the Centre, this move confirms what many critics have been
saying about the Petroleum Board, that it shouldn't be charge of both
promoting oil and gas and protecting health and safety or the environment
and fisheries. 

Says Mark Butler, "I think the worst example of the Board's conflicting
mandates is the licencing process. The Board is clearly totally
preoccupied with opening up new areas to oil and gas, and largely
indifferent to potential impacts on environmentally sensitive areas or
other marine industries. The Board doesn't have a definition of
environmentally sensitive area and nobody has mapped them on the Scotian
Shelf."

Overall, the trend is to better define and limit the Petroleum Board's
powers and affirm the role of other agencies. When it comes to the
environment, the Ministers must veto the nine licences, reform the
licencing process, and strengthen the role of DFO and Environment Canada.
						-30-
For more information contact Mark Butler at 429-2202.


--------------------
Mark Butler
Marine Issues Committee Coordinator

Ecology Action Centre
1568 Argyle Street Suite 31
Halifax, NS
B3J 2B3

902.429.2202p
902.422.6410f
-----------------------



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