The Joint Review Panel for the Mackenzie Gas Project (the Panel) has determined that it is in a position to proceed to the public hearing phase of the environmental impact review.

The Panel released its Determination of Sufficiency on July 18, 2005 stating that it would be prepared to release a detailed schedule of hearings following the receipt of information required prior to the commencement of public hearings. At that time, the Panel had expected the outstanding information to be provided by September 30, 2005. The Panel reviewed the information that it received and has determined that there is sufficient information to proceed to the public hearings phase of its review.

The Proponent notified the Panel in a September 15, 2005 letter that it would provide an update in November on its willingness to proceed with a public hearing. The Panel will not release a detailed hearing schedule prior to receiving that update.

The Panel will give at least 45 days notice in advance of the opening day of hearings.

The Panel considers public hearings an essential element of its review of the proposed Mackenzie Gas Project. In order to assist the public in preparing for the hearings, the Panel has released a preliminary list of hearing types, locations and topics. This information can be found on the Joint Review Panel website at http://www.jointreviewpanel.ca/documents.html.

The Panel will hold a third round of Information Requests to fulfill a commitment made in its July Determination to provide an opportunity for Interveners to comment on the information received. Details relating to the scope and timing will be forthcoming.

Determination to Proceed to Public Hearings

Pursuant to its July 18, 2005 Determination on Sufficiency, the Joint Review Panel for the Mackenzie Gas Project (the Panel) has completed its assessment of certain information that was required in order to proceed to Technical, General, or Community Hearings. At that time, the Panel requested that the outstanding information be provided by September 30, 2005. The Panel indicated that following receipt of the information, the Panel would be in a position to set a schedule of public hearings by location, type of hearing, and subject matter.

The Panel has taken the following measures that were identified in its July 18, 2005 Determination:

Information Requests

The Panel sent a number of Information Requests (IRs) to the Proponent. The Panel has received and reviewed responses to the IRs that it has issued, as well as responses to a number of IRs issued by others specifically relating to the Proponent’s Community Reports. IR JRP_R2_21 remains outstanding and the Panel is awaiting a response.

Commitments

The Panel has reviewed commitments made by the Proponent and others to provide certain information as requested within specific time frames prior to hearings. These commitments include: those listed by the Proponent at the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Conference (and contained in the conference facilitator’s report), those cited in various IR responses, and those made by the Government of the Northwest Territories at the EIS Conference. These commitments have been reviewed by the Panel, and, as far as the Panel is aware, have been fulfilled or are in the process of being fulfilled.

Determination

Based on the foregoing review, the Panel has determined that there is sufficient information to proceed to the public hearings phase of its review.

Next Steps

The Panel had indicated that when the foregoing information was received, Interveners would have an opportunity to review and comment on it. Accordingly, the Panel will announce shortly the commencement of Round Three IRs and provide details related to their scope and timing.

Some information remains outstanding, such as information related to the Nova Gas Transmission Line (NGTL) and proposed changes to the Mackenzie Gas Project that have occurred since the initial filing of the EIS. The Panel expects that this and any other information required for any particular scheduled Technical or General Hearing topic, or for any particular scheduled Community Hearing, will be filed with the Panel in the time frame specified in the Direction on Procedures for Hearings. Alternatively, the Panel may postpone that hearing until the information has been provided. The Panel acknowledges that further information will continue to become available during the course of the hearings.

The Panel may request undertakings from the Proponent and Interveners to provide required information at any time prior to the close of hearings.

The Panel is aware that some Proponent-sponsored traditional knowledge studies have not yet been completed. While the Panel hopes to receive the traditional knowledge studies in due course, it continues to attach great importance to learning about these matters directly from community residents at Community Hearings and from qualified persons at the appropriate Technical Hearings.

Concurrent with this Determination, the Panel is issuing a document (Guidance for the Content of Public Hearings) to provide guidance to the public hearings and a list of communities where public hearings will be held (Preliminary List of Hearings and Hearing Topics for the Proposed Mackenzie Gas Project).

The Panel will provide notice of when the hearings phase will commence when it has received confirmation from the Proponent that it is ready to proceed to hearings. A schedule of hearings will be released at least 45 days before the start of hearings.

Joint Review Panel