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STANDING
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY,
THE ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES
The
Committee tables its Report on offshore drilling, August 18,
2010.
The Report which includes six recommendations is entitled:
Facts do not Justify Banning Canada's Current Offshore Drilling
Operations: A Senate Review in the Wake of BP's Deepwater
Horizon Incident. The Report is the culmination of a
six-week study on the offshore drilling industry that included
testimony from 26 witnesses from industry, regulatory bodies,
government as well as an environmental group.
For a copy of the Report, a list of the recommendations as well
as a copy of the press release, please click on the following
link:
http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/Committee_SenRep.asp?Language=E&Parl=40&Ses=3&comm_id=5
The Committee tables
its preliminary Report on Canada's Energy Sector.
On
June 28th, 2010, the EENR Committee tabled a Report entitled:
Attention Canada! Preparing for our Energy Future - Towards a
Canadian Sustainable Energy Strategy.
Committee reviews
Offshore Drilling in Canada, June 2010.
The
Committee is presently looking into the matter of offshore
drilling as
part of its commitment to inform and reassure Canadians in light
of the horrendous events that have been taking place in the Gulf
of Mexico. The Committee has called Chevron Canada Ltd.
and other offshore drilling participants to testify on the
status of Atlantic offshore drilling.
“Our committee is conducting these hearings
to educate and inform Canadians about offshore drilling and
exploration in Canada. Canadians are questioning whether we have
sufficient regulatory and other safety regimes in place to
minimize the risk of a similar disaster in Canadian waters.
Based on the evidence we have received
so far, the committee has expressed its support for an immediate
and thorough review of all rules and regulations, provincial and
federal, which are presently in place to govern Canada’s
offshore petroleum exploration and development”
said Senator W. David Angus, Chair of the Committee.
The
Committee heard from a number of witnesses such as Max Ruelokke,
Chairman and CEO of the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador
Offshore Petroleum Board; Stuart Pinks, CEO of the Canada-Nova
Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board, Craig Stewart, Director of the
Arctic Program at the World Wildlife Fund Canada as well as The
Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of Natural Resources.
For a complete list of witnesses, please visit the Committee's
web site.
The Committee has heard from Chevron Canada Ltd. on Thursday,
June 10, 2010. Chevron is currently drilling the deepest
exploration well in Canada, known as the Lona O-55, in the
Orphan Basin off the coast of Newfoundland. In May 2010, the
Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board
announced special oversight measures for this drilling program
in light of the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The Committee
will be especially interested in hearing what measures Chevron
is implementing to reassure Canadians and regulators that every
precaution is being taken to avoid an environmental catastrophe.
Regarding offshore drilling on
Canada’s West coast, the Committee intends to clarify the terms
of the moratoria in place in waters in that offshore area. To
this end, the Committee will investigate this and other issues
through witness testimony from Natural Resources Canada.
The committee intends to release a
report of its findings on the status of Atlantic offshore
drilling upon completion of their hearings. The interim report
on their study of the current and future state of energy in
Canada is expected by the end of June 2010.
Globe Conference, March
24-26, 2010.
Some
Members
of the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and
Natural Resources attended recently the GLOBE 2010
Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Conference
is one of the world's largest and longest-running events
dedicated to the business of the environment. Every two years,
over 10,000 professionals
from 70+ countries come
together at GLOBE for three days of thought-leading sessions
presented by world-renowned sustainability experts and to survey
leading-edge environmental innovations. The Committee will
be tabling a report soon on their findings. In the
meantime, for further information, please visit the Conference
web site at:
http://www.globe2010.com/.
Copenhagen Conference
(COP15), December 7-18, 2009.
Senator
Angus travelled to Denmark in December 2009 to participate,
along with a Canadian delegation, in the United Nations
Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change on behalf of the
Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural
Resources. The Conference was a tremendous opportunity to
better understand the international challenges facing our
environment and governments all over the world. For more
information, visit the official Conference web site by
clicking here.
Energy Study.
The Committee is starting
a massive study on the energy sector in Canada. If you are
interested in following these proceedings, please visit the
Committee's web site for the dates and times of the hearings and
click on:
http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/webcast.asp?Language=E to
connect to the Committee's webcast.
Trip to Washington, D.C.
The Committee traveled to
Washington, DC from September 29th to October 2nd, 2009. During
this successful trip, Members of the Committee had the
opportunity to meet with various stakeholders in order to better
understand the environmental issues, the regulations as well as the upcoming
legislations in the United States. Photographs of the trip
are available in the
photo gallery section.
Report on Canada's North.
Source: page 3 of report.
The Committee tabled a
Report entitled "With Respect, Canada's North" on
May 14th, 2009. This Report, wich includes 9
recommendations, is the result of a trip, by certain Members of
the Committee, to the Western Arctic in June 2008. Members
wanted to understand firsthand the challenges as well as the
opportunities that exist in this beautiful part of Canada.
The full report can be obtained by
clicking here.
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