Northern NGO Statement of Principles
for Oil and Gas Development

Canadian non-governmental organizations working in the North have agreed to the following statement of principles for oil and gas development.

Six Point Summary of Guiding Principles

1. Respect Canadian interests.
2. Respect Aboriginal rights.
3. Complete protected areas network before new development.
4. Ensure fully funded and integrated environmental Management Regime.
5. Ensure fair and equitable distribution of revenues.
6. Maximize northern benefits.

Introduction

The western arctic and sub-arctic regions of Canada, encompassing the Yukon and Northwest Territories, are among the most extensive relatively intact ecosystems remaining in North America and the world. For Aboriginal peoples, this region has been a homeland for millennia. To many people, the North is a refuge in the world’s shrinking reservoir of landscapes not yet marked by industrial development.

The North is changing and its communities are preparing for a future that will include development, but also provide for an unparalleled opportunity to protect the integrity of ecosystems, communities and the sustainable way of life they support. The renewed prospect of pipelines and hydrocarbon development in the North is perhaps the greatest social, economic and environmental challenge the North has yet faced. Northerners must have a central role in any decision-making around this potential development.

We believe that the North, Canada and the world as a whole, need to shift consumption patterns toward renewable and sustainable forms of energy. We recognize that this shift will take significant time and effort. We are also mindful that the North is one of the areas that will be the earliest and most heavily affected by climate change. We believe that a truly sustainable energy policy needs to be developed for the North and for Canada. This policy should focus on renewable and “clean” forms of energy such as wind and solar, and promote conservation of our finite resources.

If, during this transition period to sustainable forms of energy, natural gas reserves or oil are to be developed, or the Canadian North is to be used to transport energy to the United States, we will work towards ensuring the responsible parties perform full environmental and socioeconomic assessments. These assessments must include an examination of need for the project and the “no-go” option. Should any oil and gas development meet reasonable environmental assessment criteria, we will work towards the use of best practices, reduction of ecological footprints, and maximum retention of economic benefits in the North. No position is taken on an Alaska Highway or Mackenzie Valley route for any potential pipelines, but the construction of either is neither inevitable nor environmentally desirable.

Principles

To restore and maintain the social and economic well-being of northern communities, the health of ecosystems and the wildlife and people that rely on them, ecologically and culturally sensitive land and waters must remain free of resource development. Where development is appropriate, it must conform to northern values, benefit northern peoples and contribute to sustainable communities.

To this end, we equally support the following principles. We believe that they are fully achievable given appropriate commitment and funding from both government and industry.

• Canadian Interests

  Canadian interests must be respected in any oil/gas or pipeline development for the benefit of the United States. The export of new oil and gas from the North and/or use of northern Canadian lands for pipelines must be based on the following commitments from the United States that they will:

  • rejoin international negotiations to reach an international agreement on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions;
  • protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from any oil and gas exploration; and
  • introduce and maintain energy demand management measures and develop renewable energy.

  At the same time, it is expected that Canada will ratify and implement the Kyoto protocol. These efforts must include a new sustainable energy policy based on significant new investment in the renewable energy sector and conservation measures. Canada must ensure that any and all relevant international agreements will be complied with to the extent that oil and gas development takes place in the North.

• Fully Funded and Integrated Environmental Management Regime

  A fully funded and integrated environmental management regime must be in place and operational before any further major oil or gas development in the Canadian North. This includes:

  • Regional land use plans must be completed and approved;
  • Environmental assessment processes must be rigorous, examine the need for and alternatives to energy projects (including the “no-go” option), provide for meaningful intervener funding, ensure a broad assessment of cumulative effects, implement the precautionary principle and full-cost accounting, and establish timelines that will encourage the full participation of northerners at all stages. Existing corridors and disturbed areas must be used to the greatest extent possible;
  • Land and water management must be strictly enforced and based on best available technology and publicly reported monitoring with independent oversight. Full security must be set aside for accidents or malfunctions and for dismantling, removal and restoration; and
  • Cumulative effects management systems must be fully implemented with monitoring of overall environmental quality trends and measures to ensure that human activities stay within defined thresholds to protect ecological integrity.

• Protected Areas in Advance of Development

  A system of protected areas that includes ecologically and culturally representative, large self-regulating ecosystems and key wildlife habitat areas must be identified and reserved for legal protection through the protected areas strategies and other legal means in both the Northwest Territories and Yukon, prior to development of northern oil and gas resources or use of the North for a pipeline.

• Aboriginal Rights

  Any development in the North must fully respect and be consistent with Aboriginal rights as defined in the Canadian Constitution, common law, treaties, and land claim and self-government agreements.

• Fair Return and Fair Distribution of Revenues

  The Canadian federal government must increase land, water, oil and gas fees and royalties to ensure fair and equitable return to the public purse for the use and extraction of these public resources. A significant portion of these revenues must be set aside for use in alternative and renewable energy development and economic diversification for northern communities including import substitution towards locally sustainable communities. Remaining revenues should be split amongst federal, territorial and Aboriginal governments.

• Northern Benefits

  Socioeconomic impacts of further oil and gas development must be fully assessed, monitored and publicly reported. Development should be scaled to local needs and capacity and reflect full-cost accounting. Measures to maximize the retention of economic benefits in the North must be implemented including impact and benefit agreements, socioeconomic agreements, training programs, and economic diversification funds.

Participating Groups