Hearings Move to Halifax

The Georges Bank Review public hearings resume in Halifax at 9 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 25, at the World Trade and Convention Centre.

The review panel will hear close to 40 presentations over four days in Halifax, which will conclude the public hearing process. Previous sessions were held in Yarmouth, Shelburne and Lunenburg.

The hearings are the final phase of a public review of the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of oil and gas exploration on Georges Bank, off the southwest coast of Nova Scotia.

In 1988, as a result of federal and provincial legislation, a moratorium was placed on petroleum exploration and drilling on Georges Bank. Under the legislation, the review panel is required to make a report and recommendations resulting from public consultations to the provincial and federal ministers responsible for the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord.

The legislation further requires the panel to report the results of its review and make its recommendations by July 1, 1999. The ministers are required to make a decision by Jan. 1, 2000.