Fonds - Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Oil and Gas Board Socio-Economic Review Panel

The Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Oil and Gas Board’s Socio-Economic Review Panel (SERP) was created on December 8, 1982 under Section 7 of the Canada-Nova Scotia Agreement on Offshore Oil and Gas Resources Management and Revenue Sharing. A two-person panel was set up with Mr. Hector Hortie, retired federal official, appointed by the Canadian Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources and Mr. Walter Miller, retired president of Scott Maritimes Ltd., appointed by the Nova Scotia Executive Council. The Review was initiated by Mobil Oil Canada Ltd.’s proposed development of the Venture oil well just east of Sable Island. The Review Panel’s mandate was to examine the socio-economic implications of production system options related to this development, in particular the economic aspects, labour and employment requirements, social services such as health care and education, infrastructure requirements such as transportation and municipal services, and socio-cultural impacts. The Review Panel worked jointly with the Sable Island Environmental Assessment Panel. Together, they held public information sessions in 11 towns in NS from Apr 30 to May 14, 1983, held public meetings in Guysborough, Port Hawkesbury, Sydney, New Glasgow, Dartmouth, and Halifax from September 25 to October 14, 1983, and accepted written submissions (briefs) from all stakeholders and interested citizens. The Panels’ main focus was the Socio-Economic Impact Statement (SEIS), part of the larger Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), written by Mobil Oil Canada Ltd. The Panel submitted its final report to the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Oil and Gas Board in January 1984 and then disbanded.