Archived - Update on the Modernization of the Act, Regulations, and Systems (MARS) - Volume V, Issue 3

Reporting Period October 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015

As reported in the previous MARS Newsletter, stakeholder (Joint Technical Committee, 3 producing First Nations, industry and the provinces) feedback was considered and accommodated within a new set of regulatory drafting instructions. IOGC continues to work with Justice Canada’s regulatory drafters to complete the regulations by February 2016. Once the regulations are completed, there will be two First Nations symposiums, one held in Alberta and the other in Saskatchewan, where the most recent draft regulations will be presented. This key IOGC initiative remains on track and it is still projected that the Indian Oil and Gas Act, 2009 and its regulations will come into force at the end of calendar year 2016 or early 2017.

In the preceding MARS Newsletter, it was reported that the RIMS2 (Resource Information Management Systems 2) project is awaiting presentation before Treasury Board for project and expenditure approvals. This is now expected to occur sometime in the new fiscal year beginning April 1, 2016. IOGC continues to work with the Provinces to ensure data is in sync prior to automated data exchange with PETRINEX (PETRoleum INformation EXcellence).

With the new Indian Oil and Gas Act, 2009 and the updated regulations coming into force, IOGC continues to prepare administratively for the enforcement of the new oil and gas regime beginning the day they become law. There are two parallel tracks governing this important process: 1) MARS Implementation that will ensure processes, policies, procedures, and tools are readied; and, 2) Organizational Change Management (OCM) that will ensure IOGC's staff are well-equipped. To assist IOGC, both short-term and long-term, professional OCM services will be contracted so IOGC is better able to respond to both internally-driven change (i.e., changes resulting from the new Act and regulations) and externally-driven change (i.e., those changes that affect whole-of-government such as new e-mail and document management systems).

IOGC received an invitation from the Indian Resource Council (IRC) to attend their annual general meeting in early December and to also participate in the trade show. In attendance with IOGC was the Assistant Deputy Minister, Sheilagh Murphy of the Lands and Economic Development (LED) sector of the department from Ottawa.

During this reporting period, the federal election occurred and the new everyday name of the department has changed from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada to Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada.