N.S. energy minister believes oil development and fishing can co-exist on Georges Bank

By Tina Comeau

THE SOU'WESTER

NovaNewsNow.com

Nova Scotia’s minister of energy, Richard Hurlburt, is not saying put a rig on Georges Bank tomorrow – not that you could anyway, because a moratorium on oil and gas development is in place until 2012.

But the Yarmouth, N.S. MLA is saying that year is not that far off and now is the time to start exploring if oil and gas rigs and the fishery could co-exist in the waters off southwestern Nova Scotia.

Hurlburt says based on the information he’s seeing, reading and hearing, he believes the two can co-exist.

And unlike the late 1980s when the mere mention of such a proposal would have solicited an angry or controversial response faster than you could slap a ‘No Rigs on Georges’ bumper sticker on your vehicle, Hurlburt suggests this time around people are receptive to studying the possibility.

That’s why he’d like to strike up a community panel as soon as possible to begin the process of educating the community.

“What I’m saying is not to put a rig on Georges Bank. What I’m saying is we have to get out and start now educating the people so they understand the issues and have good discussions,” Hurlburt says. “I’m not promoting it and I’m not discouraging it. I’m saying we have to stand up and face this and look at it and not wait until the 11th hour, that’s all I’m saying.

“I’m looking at a community group that would have the support from our department and from the industry. We want the fishermen, we want the environmentalists, we want everybody on the panel to look at this and get community interaction on it.”

Hurlburt also wants to raise the issue with federal Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn the next time the two meet in Ottawa.

In the mid-to-late 1980s fishermen vigorously fought to ban oil and gas exploration off Georges Bank. At the time Texaco Canada wanted to drill in the fish-lucrative waters. Then a decade ago, when that first moratorium was set to run out, the issue came up again, not because a company was advancing a proposal to do the exploration, but instead to seek government policy on the issue.

This time around Hurlburt says he hasn’t been lobbied by any big oil companies to reopen the discussion, he just thinks given the potential that exists it is prudent to move forward with dialogue.

“If this ever came to be and if the strikes out there are what they’re saying is out there, Nova Scotia would be a have province, so I have to do my job,” he says. Hurlburt has stated there is a potential five trillion cubic feet of gas and one billion barrels of oil.

“Just think of this one, and maybe I’m dreaming, if the Georges Bank became a reality and the strikes are as good or better than what they’re estimating is out there, can you imagine what south west Nova Scotia be? Can you imagine what Nova Scotia could be?

“I’m not going to sit back on it, but I’m not forcing it on anybody either,” the energy minister says. “I want us to take our time and do what’s right.”

Asked what’s changed from 20, or even 10, years ago, Hurlburt claims there is better science and information available now than there was back then.

“We have other countries where it’s proven. Norway, Scotland, the Gulf of Mexico, the two industries are co-existing as we speak and doing very well,” he says. “What I think my job is now is to start educating the people and to…see the safeguards that are there. Take them to countries that have proven that the two industries can co-exist.”

If he’s wrong about this, Hurlburt – coming from a riding where the fisheries are the economic mainstay – could be going out on a limb by raising the Georges Bank issue.

And he hasn’t done a job yet of convincing everyone.

The Ecology Action Centre in Nova Scotia says the oil industry has had at least three major spills in Atlantic Canada over the past three years and any energy development in the Georges Bank fishing grounds poses a risk to fish and marine life.

The Seafood Producers Association of Nova Scotia is also questioning Hurlburt’s assertion that gas, oil and fish can all get along.

Meanwhile the province’s NDP fisheries critic and MLA for Shelburne, N.S. Sterling Belliveau, has written to Premier Rodney MacDonald seeking clarification of Hurlburt’s comments.

“Was the minister stating a new policy direction for his department and your government?” Belliveau asked. “There are four years left before the moratorium comes to an end and there seems to be no pressure coming from one of the largest permit holders on Georges Bank, Chevron, so why the rush?”

If there are to be consultations, Belliveau added, they must begin with the fishing industry and coastal communities.

“The NDP fully believes that the fishery can play an important role in Nova Scotia’s future and any decision that may have a negative impact on our fisheries must be made with full consultation of our fishing industry and coastal communities.”

For his part, consultation is what Hurlburt wants to see happen.

“If it’s true, what they’re proposing could be out there on Georges, and if we can do it in an environmental manner and not disrupt the fisheries, we have to look at it,” he says.

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