Premier Appoints Head of Legal Team

Premier Russell MacLellan served notice today that Newfoundland has a fight on its hands if it wants to meddle with the established ocean boundary between the two provinces.

The premier has appointed Yves Fortier, Q.C., to lead the Nova Scotia legal team in upcoming arbitration over the boundary dividing the Laurentian Sub Basin.

Describing him as "one of the most capable and respected legal intellects in the world today," Premier MacLellan told the legislature that Mr. Fortier has been instructed to "not only protect Nova Scotians' interests, but maximize our offshore advantage."

A senior partner in the law firm Ogilvy Renault in Montreal, Mr. Fortier is a seasoned trial lawyer who has pleaded many important cases before Canadian courts and international tribunals. Most recently, on behalf of the Government of Canada he successfully argued the reference to Quebec's sovereignty to the Supreme Court.

Mr. Fortier is an acknowledged expert in maritime boundary disputes. He led the Canadian team before the World Court that enshrined our rights on the Georges Bank. In 1991, Mr. Fortier was counsel for Canada before an international arbitration panel that determined the boundary between Canada and France in the area near St. Pierre-Miquelon.

A former Canadian ambassador to the United Nations and president of the Security Council, he has been called upon to settle such issues as the land and maritime boundaries between Bahrain and Qatar, and to chair the UN committee overseeing compensation to Kuwait as a result of the Iraqi invasion and subsequent Gulf War.

Mr. Fortier will lead a legal team including members of his own firm, maritime law experts from Dalhousie University and the Nova Scotia Department of Justice.

"The only thing that matches the strength of our legal team is the strength of our arguments," said the premier. "The boundary between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland is clearly defined in federal and provincial accord legislation. Newfoundland is disputing the boundary but has so far refused to put its case on the table."

The premier called upon the federal government, which is responsible for the arbitration process, to compel Newfoundland to start presenting its case. "The people of Nova Scotia have a right to know."

The Geological Survey of Canada estimates the area contains eight to nine trillion cubic feet of natural gas and between 600 and 700 million barrels of crude. Those estimates translate into a gas potential three times the size of the current Sable Project and nearly twice the size of Hibernia. The boundary dividing the sub basin has been in place for more than four decades. The arbitration panel has yet to be established.

"The sooner we can fairly conclude this unnecessary arbitration and get that oil and gas to market, the better for all," the premier concluded.