Sahtu next to weigh in on N.W.T.'s proposed fracking regulations
Meeting in Fort Good Hope tonight, Norman Wells and Tulita on Wednesday
If tonight's input session in Fort Good Hope about proposed fracking regulations for the Northwest Territories is anything like last week's meeting in Inuvik, it will be long and potentially heated.
The Sahtu is a battle ground in the debate on fracking because its communities sit on the lucrative Canol shale gas deposits.
In the winter of 2014 ConocoPhillips drilled two exploration wells in the region. The company did not return to the site, located south of Norman Wells, this winter nor does it plan to next year. The other company doing exploratory work in the Canol, Husky Oil, also says it has no plans to drill next year.
At the first of nine planned public meetings in Inuvik last week, an all-out ban on hydraulic fracturing in the territory was one of the ideas discussed.
The territorial government says the consultations aren't about whether fracking should happen — they're about how fracking be done safely.
However, David Ramsay, N.W.T.'s minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, said people are free to call for a moratorium during the consultations. He said he and others in government will take note.
Tonight's meeting begins at 5 p.m. at the Fort Good Hope community centre. On Wednesday, meetings wil be held at the Norman Wells Legion hall at 11:30 a.m. and at the Tulita community centre at 7 p.m.
The public and businesses have 90 days to comment.
The CBC's Shannon Scott and Peter Sheldon will be in the Sahtu to cover the meetings.
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