Indian Oil and Gas Canada (IOGC) is the federal regulatory agency responsible for the management and administration of oil and gas resources on designated Indian Reserve land across Canada.

Oil and gas development on First Nation reserve lands has been legislated since 1974 under the Indian Oil and Gas Act and, before that, the Indian Act. In 1977, Indian Oil and Gas Regulations were revised and brought under the Indian Oil and Gas Act from the Indian Act. The regulations were revised again in 1995 mostly to provide for increased First Nation participation.

IOGC’s responsibilities are broad with respect to oil and gas exploitation on reserve lands. Some of these duties include:

• Negotiating, issuing and administering subsurface agreements;
• Issuing surface agreements including environmental planning and protection;
• Monitoring of oil and gas production and sales prices; and
• Verification and collection of moneys such as bonuses, royalties and rents.

Last year, the Government of Canada tabled an Act to Amend the Indian Oil and Gas Act as Bill C-5 in Parliament. That act was promulgated in May 2009. The changes are comprehensive and will, in effect, modernize the day-to-day management of oil and gas resources. The Act will come into force once modernized Regulations have been vetted through the parliamentary process and after consultations with First Nations, industry and provinces have occurred. The three key changes in the Act give the ability to develop specific federal regulations related to the protection of the environment including reclamation, to incorporate by reference select provincial laws, and to impose administrative monetary penalties and fines, including the creation of federal inspectors and enforcement officers. These changes will allow IOGC to better manage Indian oil and gas resources on par with the provincial regimes.

In anticipation of regulatory development, IOGC is currently improving its environmental audit and reclamation processes. The changes include improving compliance and non-compliance through a tracking system and establishing a direction to comply process; development of an inspection program; and clarifying procedures and requirements that will promote compliance, clarity and consistency between federal and provincial standards.

The presentation focuses a bit on the history of IOGC, the upcoming regulatory development and the current federal reclamation process on Indian Reserve Land. The differences between the federal and provincial reclamation process on Indian Land will be highlighted.

Elaine Blais (nee McIvor), B.Sc. has worked in the environmental field for the federal government for the past 18 years.  Ms. Blais has worked primarily for Indian and Northern Affairs (INAC) in northern Ontario, the British Columbia west coast, in the Northwest Territories (NWT) and now with Indian Oil and Gas Canada.  She also worked as a Fisheries Biologist for Fisheries and Oceans Canada in the NWT.  Ms. Blais’ professional experience includes environmental assessment (screenings and comprehensive studies), active site inspections, Phase 1 and 2 environmental site assessments, remediation, reclamation and effects monitoring.  In the NWT, she was INAC’s environmental assessment project manager for the Diavik Diamonds Project in the NWT.  Ms. Blais has also been involved in developing and implementing federal Aboriginal consultation requirements throughout her career.  At IOGC, Ms. Blais is responsible for fulfilling the federal Crown’s environmental responsibilities on Indian reserves that have oil and gas activity.  This includes reserve land in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.