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Tuesday June 9 2015 7 POLITICS ENERGY www.rmwb.ca IMPORTANT DEADLINE 2015 PROPERTY TAX PAYMENT DUE MONDAY JUNE 30 2015 Tax Notices were mailed to all property owners on Friday May 29 2015. Payments are due Tuesday June 30 2015. A Tax Installment Payment Plan TIPP is available for your convenience. You may find this an easy and cost-effective way of paying your annual tax bill. If you have not received your Property Tax Notice please contact the Taxation branch. Information regarding your Property Tax Notice and the TIPP program are available on our website at www.rmwb.cataxes or by calling 780-743-7900 or toll free at 1-800-973-9663. Payments are due June 30 2015 Regardless of circumstances Motions for fracking moratorium plebiscite shot down in NWT legislature By MEAGAN WOHLBERG Residents hoping for a moratorium review orplebisciteonfrackingweredisappointedlast week as members of the Legislative Assembly shot down two motions that would have given the public a say on whether or not fracking shouldbeallowedintheNorthwestTerritories. Hydraulic fracturing or fracking was a major topic of discussion in the legislature last week starting on Tuesday when the majority of regular members gave statements on the unconventional oil and gas drilling process and a petition of more than 1100 signatures calling for a full public review was tabled. That petition was followed by two separate motions on Thursday addressing public con- cerns over fracking the first of which put forth by Weledeh MLA Bob Bromley called for a moratorium on horizontal fracking for at least two years or until a comprehensive transparent and public review of the cumu- lative environmental social and economic risks and benefits is completed. Thismotionisareflectionofthevoiceofthe people of the Northwest Territories. They have written a petition phoned e-mailed demon- strated spoken at engagement sessions and petitionedagainallwithoutasinglenodfrom either the premier or the minister of Industry to indicate that their voices have been heard Bromley said of the motion that was seconded byMackenzieDeltaMLAFrederickBlakewho admitted to a change of heart on the matter. Iknowmyviewshavechangedoverthelast year and a half here but theres a lot of con- cern out there especially in my riding Blake said. All the water in this territory comes to the Mackenzie Delta. It comes right down the Mackenzie River from the Sahtu. My constit- uents are very concerned about what kinds of pollutantswillcomedowninthefuture.Theyre not thinking about today. We may make a few million in this territory over the next couple of years but what is that going to cost in the fu- ture to have our waterways polluted A second but separate motion brought forward by Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins did not request a moratorium but instead called for a plebiscite to determine whether or not the NWT public is in favour of allowing fracking to take place in the territory. This is an important question for our time. So its not just about what we think we know about fracking its also about what we want to know from the public which is how do they feel Hawkins said. That motion would have bound the GNWT to carrying out such a referendum-like pro- cess but the results of the vote would have been politically non-binding. Both motions were voted down. In the case of the moratorium the motion was defeated 11-5. Those in favour included Bromley Blake Hawkins Frame Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro and Deh Cho MLA Michael Nadli. Those who did not support the motion com- mended the members for bringing it forward and fostering debate but called a morato- rium premature considering how new the industry is for the territory. Hay River North MLA Robert Bouchard added that the lull in oil and gas activity in the NWT makes for a natural moratorium making Bromleys motion a moot point. Industry Minister Dave Ramsay seconded that saying the GNWT has already commit- ted to Northerners to take the time needed to properly manage the resource. ThereisnooilandgasactivityintheNorth- west Territories today and we dont expect to seeanyforatleastthenextcoupleofyears.This pausegivesustheopportunitytolookatthesci- ence to look at best practices from around the world and to design a world-class approach to managingit.Timeisonoursideandweshould use that time to our advantage he said. The plebiscite motion was voted down 11-3. Hawkins Bromley and Nadli voted in favour while Bisaro and Blake abstained calling the move premature. The plebiscite would have been held before the fall election. Members of cabinet said the discussion on fracking has begun and continues. Wearealreadyengagedinapublicconversa- tionabouthydraulicfracturingandhavecom- mitted to taking the time we need to develop good strong rules about it rules that are in- formedbysciencebestpracticesandtheviews of Northerners said Premier Bob McLeod. Wehaveplanstocontinuethatconversation andtoengagewithNorthernersacrosstheterri- toryinthecomingmonths.Therewillbeplenty ofopportunitiesduringthepublicengagement for the people of this territory to express their views on the issue of hydraulic fracturing. We are already engaged in a public conversation about hydraulic fracturing and have committed to taking the time we need to develop good strong rules about it rules that are informed by science best practices and the views of Northerners. NWT Premier Bob McLeod PhotoJoshuaDoubek Shale gas fracturing in the Bakken play of North Dakota. Minister appoints NWT Mining Advisory Board members By MEAGAN WOHLBERG The names of the appointed members of the new NWT Mining Advisory Board MAB were announced publicly last Friday after completing their inaugural meeting in Yel- lowknife on June 3. The territorial advisory board on mineral exploration and development is composed of Mr. Brendan Bell of Dominion Diamonds Corporation of Yellowknife NWT chair Mr. Darrel Beaulieu of DEMCo Limited Partnership of Yellowknife NWT Mr. Rod Brown of Discovery Mining Ser- vices of Yellowknife NWT Ms. Leni Keough of Olivut Resources of Hinton Alberta Mr. Don Bubar of Avalon Rare Metals of Toronto Ontario Mr. John Kearney of Canadian Zinc of To- ronto Ontario. Industry Tourism and Investment Minis- ter Dave Ramsay said topics discussed at the first meeting centered on reinvigorating the NWTs mineral industry which is at a critical point due to a downturn in commodity prices. Those topics included assembling an ef- fective and efficient regulatory system the need for infrastructure that fosters develop- ment creating more awareness about the im- portance of mineral development to the NWT economy and promoting the NWTs mineral potential to possible investors. We need to ensure employment and busi- ness opportunities for our communities are realized from our resource-based economy whilecontinuingtoachievehighenvironmental and social standards. The MAB will help us to do that Ramsay said. So far the board has advised that the min- ister focus on a few key strategic priorities including drafting a leading edge Mineral Resources Act noting that the NWT is the only province or territory where such legis- lation is absent. As well the board recommended the min- ister focus on creating and implementing a public awareness campaign to build public support for mineral exploration. Ramsay announced plans to establish the board earlier this year as an outcome of the NWT Mineral Development Strategy. The volunteer board is to provide non- binding independent strategic advice to gov- ernment on the mining sector in the NWT. Brendan Bell of Dominion Diamonds is chair of the new NWT Mining Advisory Board. PhotocourtesyofDominionDiamonds INDUSTRY MINING