Minister welcomes start to offshore boundary hearings.

Mines and Energy Minister Lloyd Matthews is pleased that oral arguments respecting the Newfoundland and Labrador/Nova Scotia offshore boundary dispute arbitration will commence on March 12. The hearing will be conducted at the Wu Conference Centre, located on the Fredericton campus of the University of New Brunswick.

The arbitration, established by the federal Minister of Natural Resources, will proceed in two phases. In Phase One, the tribunal will consider Nova Scotia�s claim that a line separating the Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia offshore areas has been resolved by agreement. A decision on Phase One will be rendered within two months of the conclusion of oral arguments. If the tribunal finds that the line has not been resolved by agreement in Phase One, a line to separate the two provinces� offshore areas will be determined by the tribunal in Phase Two. Oral arguments for Phase Two will commence in the late fall of 2001.

"This case is very important to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador," Minister Matthews said. "We have reviewed in detail the written arguments submitted by Nova Scotia with our lead legal counsel, Professor Donald McRae. We remain confident in the strength of our case and that the tribunal will move on to determine a boundary line in Phase Two."

The chair of the tribunal is the Honourable G�rard La Forest, former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. The other members of the tribunal are Leonard Legault, Canadian Chairperson and Commissioner, International Joint Commission, and Dr. James Richard Crawford, Whewell Professor of International Law, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.

"After so much preparation by our legal team, we are understandably anxious to make our arguments directly to the tribunal," said Minister Matthews. "While this process has been slow moving, I am encouraged that we are approaching a final resolution to this dispute. The determination of a boundary line will allow Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia to get on with promoting highly prospective offshore areas between our provinces."

The decision of the tribunal will be binding on Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia and will be implemented by the federal government.

Media contact: Gary Callahan, (709) 729-4890.

2001 03 09                                                     10:45 a.m.