Premier Supports Arbitration On Dispute
Nova Scotia Premier John Hamm says the federal arrangements for the settlement of an offshore boundary dispute with Newfoundland are reasonable and appropriate.
The federal government today announced in Ottawa the creation of an arbitration tribunal. The tribunal could complete its work by the end of this year, or early next year.
"We are pleased that the process will be completed relatively quickly," said Premier Hamm. "We are also pleased that the tribunal will first determine whether the line has already been established by agreement."
If the panel accepts Nova Scotia's position that an agreement on the existing line is already in place, a permanent settlement of the dispute could be in place seven months after the tribunal gets underway. If the tribunal decides that the current boundary line has not already been drawn by agreement, it will take an additional 11 months to determine where the line should be drawn.
"We are prepared to proceed immediately," said the premier. "The area in dispute has great potential for oil and gas development off Cape Breton. The sooner we resolve this matter the better."
The government has been preparing its legal case on this matter for more than a year, and has set aside one million dollars in the current year's budget to cover the legal costs.
The premier is pleased the federal government is willing to consider a joint proposal for interim arrangements. This has been Nova Scotia's position for some time.
As a first step, the premier will ask the Canada Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board to start the preliminary background work needed before exploration licences are issued. By doing the background work now, the board should be able to move quickly once interim arrangements are put in place, or the arbitration decision is finalized.
The chair of the tribunal is former Supreme Court Justice Gerrard LaForest. The members are Leonard Legault, a distinguished Canadian expert on international law and maritime boundary issues, and James Richard Crawford of Cambridge University, also an expert in this subject.
The panelists have been agreed to by both provinces. The federal government will pay the cost of the tribunal while each province will pay their own legal costs.
NOTE TO EDITORS: Background information on the Laurentian Sub- basin and the arbitration process can be found on the Petroleum Directorate website at www.gov.ns.ca/petro . The same site has links to the premier's statement on the subject in the House of Assembly, the biographies for the arbitration panel members and to the federal news release.