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PoliticsRegulatory3TuesdayMarch112014ASSESSEDPROPERTYVALUEPROPERTYTAXRATEPROPERTYTAXBILLXIndustryhelpedselectAlbertaforregulatorysupportByMEAGANWOHLBERGThedecisiontoemploythetechnicalservicesoftheAlbertaEnergyRegula-torAERfollowingdevolu-tionwasmadeattheadviceofindustryconsultantsof-cialswiththeGNWTtoldTheJournallastweek.Aspokespersonforthede-partmentofIndustryTourismandInvestmentITIsaidthedecisiontonegotiateserviceagreementswithboththeNa-tionalEnergyBoardNEBandAERtoprovidetechni-calsupporttotheNWTasitestablishesitsownregu-latorwasmadefollowingmeetingswithindustrytogettheirviewastowhatwouldbethebestcourseofactionfortheNWTaccord-ingtoanemailfromCarinaSartor-Pielak.OncealltheoptionswereconsideredtheGNWTfeltthatthebestchoicefortheNWTwouldbetoestablishitsownregulator...Asaresultthedecisionwasmadetone-gotiateserviceagreementswithboththeNationalEn-ergyBoardandtheAlbertaEnergyRegulatorshesaid.ThoughneitherserviceagreementhasbeennalizeditwasrecentlyannouncedthattheGNWTwouldbeaccessingsupportfrombothregulatorsforthenexttwoyears.Sartor-PielaksaiddetailsofthecontractswouldbeavailabletothepubliconcesignedonApr.1thoughsomepieceswouldremaincon-dential.Shedidnotsaywhatdetailswouldbemadepublic.InthecaseoftheNEBtheservicecontractwiththeNWTwillbereleasedattheearliestpossibilityasisthecasewithallcontractsen-teredintobytheNEBshesaid.SomeofthedetailintheAERcontractcontainspersonalinformationthatmustremaincondentialhoweverweanticipatethattheremainderofthatcontractcouldbereleasedpubliclywiththeconsentofboththeGNWTandAER.WorryoverthemovetoemployAERintheprovisionoftechnicalsupporthasbeenexpressedbysectorsofthepublicandwithintheLeg-islativeAssembly.WeledehMLABobBromleytabledareportinthehouselastweekcriticizingAERscomplianceandenforcementrecordinitshomeprovince.Thereportcompiledbywatershedscientistandcon-sultantDr.KevinTimoneyindicatesover4000envi-ronmentalinfractionsbe-tween1996and2012withonly0.9percentresultinginenforcementanumberheconcludesis17timeslowerthanintheUS.Withthatexpertadvicewewillenforceourownrulesonlessthanoneof100viola-tionsBromleysaidaskingwhytheNWTdidntcreateitsownversionoftheNEBratherthanmakingcabinetrespon-sibleforenergyregulation.TheGNWTrecentlyap-pointedITIMinisterDavidRamsayasheadofthenewNWTRegulator.ITIwillberesponsibleforregulatingon-shoreoilandgasreservesaswellasmining.Ramsaysaiditistooearlytocriticizethemodel.OilandgasprojectshereintheNorthwestTerritorieswillagaincontinuetobesubjecttoenvironmentalregulationundertheMack-enzieValleyResourceMan-agementActwhichwillcon-tinuetorequirepublichear-ingsinsomecircumstances.Itssimplywrongtomakeanassertionthatbecauseofdevolutionrequirementsforpublichearingsaregoingtochange.Thatsnotthecasehesaid.ThisisgoingtobeourbesteffortputforwardtoregulatethisindustryintheNorthwestTerritoriesbuildacapacityhereathomeandwithanintegratedapproachtoresourcemanagementintheNWT...webelievewecangetthisright.Ministerialcontrolovertheregulatoryprocessisamodelemulatedbyotherjurisdic-tionsinCanadaincludingSaskatchewanManitobaandYukon.PhotoBillBradenCabinetrecentlyannouncedthatIndustryMinisterDavidRamsayrightwouldbeheadingthenewNWTregulatortoreceivetechnicalsupportfromAlbertaandtheNationalEnergyBoard.ElectiondatetermlengthnotspeciedinmotionContinuedfrompage1.IhadheardwhenIcameintopoliticsthatpoliticianstendtolookafterthemselvesbutthisre-denestheyard-stickhecharged.Togiveourselvesthisauthoritywithoutgoingtothepeopleandwithnopub-licinputshowsacavalierdisdainforthevotersoftheNorthwestTerritories.Onecanonlyimaginethattherehasbeensomedegreeofse-cretcommunicationbetweenthisgovernmentandthefed-eralgovernmentasthisac-tionwillrequirechangestobothfederalandterritoriallegislationsomethingthatnormallywouldtakeyearstoachieve.BromleytoldTheJournalthatacademicstudiesshowconcurrentorconsecutiveelectionsincreasethelike-lihoodthatmediapayatten-tiontoatleastoneelectionandincreasetheamountofmoneyspentoncampaignsthusraisingthesuccessofeachelection.RangeLakeMLADarylDolynnyagreedstatingthathethoughtitwouldactu-allyincreasevoterturnouttohavethemalloccurinonemonth.DolynnyvotedagainstthemotionsayingitwasahastydecisionthatcalledintoquestionthemoralsofMLAs.HayRiverNorthMLARobertBouchardYellow-knifeCentreMLARob-ertHawkinsFrameLakeMLAWendyBisaroDehChoMLAMichaelNadliandInuvikBootLakeMLAAlfredMosesalsorefusedtosupportthemotionbasedonconcernsexpressedbytheirconstituents.WhenvoterswenttothepollsitwastoelectMLAsforfouryearsMosessaid.PhotoBillBradenMLAsvotedinfavourofextendingtheirterms11-7onMondayinLegislature.PoliticsElections