Thank you. I’d like to welcome you all on behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories. Once again, the conference organizers have done a phenomenal job putting together one of the premier oil and gas events in the country. The people of Inuvik and the Beaufort Delta have always had the drive and initiative to get things done.
I’ve attended the Inuvik Petroleum Show many times before and I always enjoy it. I’ve met and talked with many of you over the years and it is always great to be able to see you again here in Inuvik. Wherever I speak in the Northwest Territories or across Canada, I like to tell people about the great potential we have in the oil and gas sector up here. It is nice to see so many people share my opinion and continue to come to Inuvik each year to talk about how we can turn that potential into northern and national prosperity.
This is the first Petroleum Show to take place since responsibility for land, resources and water was devolved from the Government of Canada to the Government of the Northwest Territories. Devolution is one of the most significant political evolutions in our history and had been a priority of our government decades. I am proud to say I was part of the Legislative Assembly that made it a reality.
We achieved devolution through a combination of vision, hard work and careful planning in partnership with Aboriginal governments and the Government of Canada. These elements that were central to our preparations for devolution are exactly what we need to keep the Northwest Territories ahead of the curve on Arctic energy and resources.
Increasingly, Canada is recognizing that the North will play a major role in this country’s economic future and eyes are turning in our direction. Prime Minister Harper has long been a supporter of the North and continues to recognize the potential not only for the NWT but also for the whole of Canada. A prosperous North means a more prosperous Canada overall.
With a substantial resource base that is still largely undeveloped, the Northwest Territories has the potential to create new economic opportunities and contribute meaningfully to the wealth of its residents and all Canadians for generations to come.
I do not have to tell you that natural resources are something the Northwest Territories has in abundance. Nobody is better positioned to know what kind of potential this territory has than the people here today. The oil and gas reserves here in the Mackenzie Delta and Beaufort Sea, as well as the potentially world-class resources in the Sahtu and Dehcho, can help to fuel economic growth and prosperity here at home and outside our borders.
Approximately 16.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 1.2 billion barrels of oil have already been discovered in our territory.
This is only a small part of our estimated potential of 81 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and nearly 7 billion barrels of oil. In addition, there are substantial offshore reserves of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids in the Beaufort Sea.
Meanwhile the world-class potential of the Canol shale oil as a major energy source continues to grow and with it the opportunity to increase economic development that will generate employment and business opportunities for our people and communities – especially in the Sahtu.
Add to this our mineral wealth. We are the third largest diamond producer in the world and have the largest reserves of rare earth metals outside of China. We have gold, silver, cobalt, bismuth, lead, copper and zinc, much of it yet to be mined. Six of Canada’s top 100 mining exploration and development appraisal projects of 2013 are in the Northwest Territories.
I am pleased to say that awareness of Northern potential outside of our territory continues to grow. Last month the Conference Board of Canada released its “How Canada Performs Economy” report card, which found that the three territories are outperforming most of their provincial counterparts economically. GDP for the three territories combined is expected to grow by three percent, exceeding the Canadian average. This confirms earlier forecasts by the Conference Board that the GDP of the territories could double by 2020, driven by long-term global demand for minerals and metals.
This positive outlook for the North was further confirmed with the release of a policy brief from the Centre for International Governance Innovation called “The Northwest Territories and Arctic Maritime Development in the Beaufort Area”.
The report called the Northwest Territories “arguably the most promising economic region in the Canadian Arctic in terms of public and private potential, scale of resources, variety of transport routes, well-functioning territorial government and close cooperation with neighbours.” Our territory was noted for its impressive achievements in responsible resource and community development, and devolution was cited as an important step that will enhance our economic self-reliance.
Our own Government of the Northwest Territories economic forecast sees the territorial economy growing at an average pace of seven percent per year from 2016 to 2019. Over the next five years, we expect employment to grow by almost 2400 workers, helped by a positive world economic climate, low interest monetary policy in Canada, new mining projects and devolution.
Clearly, all the elements are falling into place to transform the economy of the Northwest Territories, turning the potential we have known about for years into jobs and economic opportunities for our people and all Canadians. But we can’t take that potential for granted. Simply having the resources does not mean that economic growth will automatically follow.
Former Prime Minister Mulroney noted this very fact in a speech on the next big thing for Canada he delivered this past April. Reflecting continuing shifts in both resource production and global demand, Mr. Mulroney was clear that Canada cannot simply rely on abundant resources.
“We have to understand,” he said “that while demand for much of what we have is strong, we operate in a highly competitive global market. We cannot sit back…and expect customers to knock on our door.”
This is a truth that the people of this region and people in your industry know all too well. For years we have seen our resource potential lie dormant and undeveloped, our businesses idle and economy stifled while we wait for the promised boom that is always coming but has yet to arrive. We have all seen firsthand the kinds of challenges that can slow a project down and delay economic development.
Northerners are tired of waiting.
We have no interest in seeing our resources stranded another 40 years. We want to start enjoying the benefits of a strong, robust economy based on responsible and sustainable development of our resource wealth. It is time for the Northwest Territories to take its place in Confederation as a “have” jurisdiction contributing to national growth and prosperity.
What are the challenges we have to overcome to achieve this goal? Mr. Mulroney noted two: uncertainty and inadequate infrastructure.
Resource development has always been an uncertain enterprise.
Every work proposal bid, every exploration well, is a calculated risk made riskier by complicated regulatory processes, limited access to financing, infrastructure challenges and, increasingly, unfavourable public opinion.
Staying ahead of the curve means facing uncertainty head on and taking steps to foster an environment that better supports responsible, sustainable development. Government can play a leading role in that work, contributing to increased certainty with vision, planning and sound public policy that considers the best interests of all citizens.
Devolution was a major step towards reducing uncertainty here in the Northwest Territories.
Northerners know this land and its resources better than anybody and have a direct interest in seeing good decisions made about it. We want to benefit from the managed development of northern resources. Giving Northerners greater responsibilities and a greater voice in decision making can’t help but lead to better, faster decisions about how we manage our land, resources and water.
As Northerners we are better positioned to make decisions that have the best interests of the Northwest Territories and its residents at heart than officials in Ottawa. Northern development is not just another file in an already full agenda for us, it is a primary focus. We can deliver our sustained, undivided attention to development in a way that ensures projects get reviewed quickly and thoroughly.
As a smaller jurisdiction we are able to be more responsive to our constituents and more nimble in our decision making, eliminating much of the confusion and uncertainty that has marked development in past years.
We can contribute to greater certainty by establishing clear expectations and shared priorities around development. Industry needs to know what the rules are and our people need to know that their government is committed to managing and protecting the environment according to Northern priorities and values.
An effective and efficient regulatory system based on clear priorities and expectations serves both industry and the public.
Supporting and maintaining a predictable system of environmental regulation with timely reviews has been a central planning consideration for our government and will continue to be a priority as we implement devolution along with our Aboriginal government partners and the Government of Canada.
The need for certainty informed the development of our Land Use and Sustainability Framework, released earlier this year. This foundational framework sets out the principles and approach we will follow as we engage in decision making around land in the Northwest Territories.
Having a clear, consistent approach to how we make land use decisions will help ensure there are no surprises when it comes to dealing with our government and ensure we make sound decisions that are in the public interest as we begin to exercise our new authorities for land, resources and water.
Our intention to establish regulations setting out information requirements for projects involving hydraulic fracturing is another effort to eliminate uncertainty. The system works more smoothly when there are fewer surprises, when everybody involved knows what to expect. Regulations informed by our consultations with industry, experts, the public and Aboriginal governments will ensure that decisions are predictable and can be made in an orderly and timely fashion.
Competing interests and sometimes contrary views are another major source of uncertainty in today’s world, especially when it comes to resource development. Stakeholders and special interest groups with priorities of their own insert themselves into the process, making development all the more complicated and challenging.
That’s a challenge we deal with every day here in the Northwest Territories, and we do it successfully. How do we do it? We do it with an unwavering commitment to engagement and relationship building.
There is no better example than our ongoing efforts to build and maintain effective working relationships with our territory’s seven regional Aboriginal governments.
Strengthening and rebuilding relations with Aboriginal governments has been a priority for me and our government since the day we took office.
With unique interests and priorities of their own, Aboriginal governments have a critical role to play in the future success and direction of this territory. We need to work together if we want to create the kind of territory where all our people can prosper and achieve their full potential.
Working together starts with engagement. We have made it a priority to approach Aboriginal governments in the spirit of respect, recognition and responsibility.
We have created opportunities for dialogue where we have built understanding and common ground by sharing our interests and concerns openly and frankly.
We have entered into government-to-government agreements with Aboriginal governments, welcomed them as partners in devolution and made them part of our decision making processes. We continue to work to settle and implement land, resources and self-government agreements. As members of the Intergovernmental Council, participating Aboriginal governments will continue to play a critical role in the successful implementation of devolution, working with us on shared land and resource management issues.
Uncertainty exists where legitimate interests go unrecognized and unmet. That is not the case in the Northwest Territories.
By working closely with Aboriginal governments, we have helped to eliminate much of the uncertainty and discord that can surround development projects in other jurisdictions.
There is one other challenge that we must address if we are going to transform northern potential into national prosperity, and that is infrastructure. As Mr. Mulroney noted in his speech, “you cannot sell what you cannot ship.” While we may be able to create the social consensus to support responsible, sustainable development, infrastructure limitations will continue to be a significant constraint on our potential growth.
Our government continues to focus on strategic investments in the infrastructure this territory needs to support the development of a strong, diversified economy. That includes investment in transportation infrastructure like the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway, which we have undertaken with the support of the Government of Canada and which is part of a bigger Mackenzie Valley Highway project. When completed, the Mackenzie Valley Highway will connect Canada from sea to sea to sea, supporting exploration and development in the mineral-rich interior region of the Northwest Territories and helping us move our resources to market.
Developing our energy infrastructure is another priority for us.
We know that businesses and industry need access to reliable, affordable energy if they are going to prosper. With this in mind, we have published an NWT Energy Plan and a Power System Plan that will help us expand our hydro transmission system and make better use of our energy resources.
But the infrastructure challenge is not one that our government can, or should be expected to, solve on its own. There is a national interest and a national benefit to be had from developing the North that calls for a broader partnership, particularly with the Government of Canada.
We are pleased that they have partnered with us on the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway, but there is an opportunity for further investment in nation-building infrastructure projects that will help support northern development and prosperity, including investments in marine infrastructure that can provide alternatives for moving Northern resources to markets.
The 17th Legislative Assembly has a vision of a strong, prosperous and environmentally sustainable Northwest Territories that all residents, families and communities can benefit from.
We cannot have prosperity without an economy that provides jobs and economic opportunities for people and revenues to our government to invest in infrastructure and deliver programs and services that support our residents to be healthy, educated and self-sufficient.
For the foreseeable future, our economy will include responsible resource development as a major component.
Transforming the potential of this region and this territory into prosperity for residents and businesses has been, and will continue to be, a major focus for this government. With the partnership of Aboriginal governments, the Government of Canada and industry, we will continue to work to keep the territory ahead of the curve and ensure that we can all reap the benefits of devolution and a strong, prosperous territory.
Thank you.