"A Deal Is a Deal," Nova Scotia Tells Tribunal

The offshore boundary dividing Nova Scotia and Newfoundland has been respected in practice for decades, and so has the binding 1964 Agreement that established it, Premier John Hamm told an arbitration tribunal today in Fredericton.

In his opening statement to the tribunal, the Nova Scotia premier said an interprovincial agreement has been in place since 1964, when Atlantic Canada’s four premiers worked it out to divide the seabed area off the Atlantic coast. Quebec endorsed the agreement shortly afterwards.

"This dispute is not about a boundary, it’s about honouring an agreement made nearly 40 years ago," Premier Hamm said. "Nova Scotia’s evidence clearly demonstrates that this boundary has existed for decades. Our case shows that these lines have been widely used ever since the four Atlantic Provinces and Quebec agreed to them."

Nova Scotia and Newfoundland have been locked in a dispute over the maritime boundary that separates the two provinces. At the centre of the disagreement is a vast underwater area thought to be rich in natural gas and petroleum resources.

The Nova Scotia-Newfoundland boundary begins in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and extends to the outer edge of the continental margin, as shown on the attached map, dividing equally the area of greatest prospectivity.

Newfoundland denies that a formal agreement was ever concluded on East Coast boundaries. However, Nova Scotia’s evidence filed with the tribunal shows that Newfoundland has respected its offshore boundaries with Quebec and Nova Scotia since the 1964 Agreement was concluded, and has issued exploration permits that respect those boundaries.

Premier Hamm said the Nova Scotia case is based on historical evidence that proves Newfoundland agreed to the boundaries: "The evidence we have uncovered clearly shows that an agreement was reached by all the provinces involved. To deny that these boundaries exist, is a denial of history itself."

Nova Scotia is anxious to resolve the dispute so that petroleum and gas exploration and development in the disputed area can proceed without delay. "We need to settle this once and for all for the benefit of Atlantic Canada," the premier said. "Confirming the established boundary line will restore the necessary conditions to continue the orderly development of our offshore resources. This dispute has already set exploration and development back by several years."

The arbitration tribunal has been asked to decide whether the line dividing the respective offshore areas of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland has been resolved by agreement. If it finds this is the case, the matter will end and the 1964 agreement boundaries will stand. If it finds otherwise, the hearing will enter a second phase to determine how the boundaries should be established.

"Nova Scotia is confident the tribunal will find that an agreement on the boundary does exist and that it will not be necessary to move to the second phase," Premier Hamm said, "but should that not happen, I won’t allow Nova Scotia’s interests to be compromised."

Nova Scotia case before the tribunal is the culmination of more than two years of work by Nova Scotia government officials, legal experts, historians, cartographers, hydrographers and others. L. Yves Fortier, the world-renowned Canadian international law expert from the national law firm Ogilvy Renault, leads Nova Scotia’s legal team. Argument before the Tribunal is expected to last 10 days.

Additional background information on Nova Scotia''s legal case is available on the Nova Scotia Government website: http://www.gov.ns.ca/iga/laurentian