New{9lrttand Labrador Government of Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development Response to Applicant- Partial Access Granted Form 48 August 2nd, 2016 Re: Your request for access to information under Part II of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, our file# BTCRD/20/2016 On July 7 1 h, 2016 the Department of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development received your request for access to the following records/information: "Cost of trip to Norway undertaken by former Minister Darin King in March/April, 2015. Number of people and positions attending with him. Travel expenses associated with Norway trip...taxi, accommodations, airfare etc. Itinerary, including cities visited.. Statements in House or media by Minister King associated with this trip" Clarification: request to exclude records previously released in accordance with BTCRD/17/2016, as are publicly available at http://atipp-search.gov.nl.ca/. Please be advised that a decision has been made by Daryl Genge, Deputy Minister for the Department of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development to provide access to some of the requested information. Access to the remaining records, and/or information contained within the records, has been refused in accordance with the following exceptions to disclosure: Section 29.(1)(a); Section 34.(1)(b); and, Section 34.(1)(a), as specified in the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act). As required by 8(2) of the Act, we have severed information that is unable to be disclosed and have provided you with as much information as possible. In accordance with your request for a copy of the records, the appropriate copies have been enclosed. Please be advised that you may ask the Infonnation and Privacy Commissioner to review the processing of your access request, as set out in section 42 of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act). A request to the Commissioner must be made in writing within 15 business days of the date of this letter or within a longer period that may be allowed by the Commissioner. The address and contact infonnation ofthe Information and Privacy Commissioner is as follows: Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner 2 Canada Drive P. 0. Box 13004, Stn. A St. John's, NL. AlB 3V8 P.O. Box 8700, St. John's, Nl, Canada A1B 4JS t 709.729.7000 f 709.729.4858
Telephone: (709) 729-6309 Toll-Free: 1-877-729-6309 Facsimile: (709) 729-6500 You may also appeal directly to the Supreme Court Trial Division within 15 business days after you receive the decision of the public body, pursuant to section 52 of the Act. Please be advised that responsive records will be published following a 72 hour period after the response is sent electronically to you or five business days in the case where records are mailed to you. It is the goal to have the responsive records posted to the Office of Public Engagement's website within one business day following the applicable period of time. Please note that requests for personal information will not be posted online. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me by telephone at 709-729-6811 or by e-mail at J onathanhammond@gov.nl.ca.
Access or correction complaint 42.(1) A person who makes a request under this Act for access to a record or for correction of personal information may file a complaint with the commissioner respecting a decision, act or failure to act of the head of the public body that relates to the request. (2) A complaint under subsection (1) shall be filed in writing not later than 15 business days (a) after the applicant is notified of the decision of the head of the public body, or the date of the act or failure to act; or... (b) after the date the head of the public body is considered to have refused the request under subsection 16(2). (3) A third party informed under section 19 of a decision of the head of a public body to grant access to a record or part of a record in response to a request may file a complaint with the commissioner respecting that decision. (4) A complaint under subsection (3) shall be filed in writing not later than 15 business days after the third party is informed ofthe decision of the head of the public body. (5) The commissioner may allow a longer time period for the filing of a complaint under this section. (6) A person or third party who has appealed directly to the Trial Division under subsection 52(1) or 53(1) shall not file a complaint with the commissioner. (7) The commissioner shall refuse to investigate a complaint where an appeal has been commenced in the Trial Division. (8) A complaint shall not be filed under this section with respect to (a) a request that is disregarded under section 21; (b) a decision respecting an extension of time under section 23; (c) a variation of a procedure under section 24; or (d) an estimate of costs or a decision not to waive a cost under section 26. (9) The commissioner shall provide a copy of the complaint to the head of the public body concerned. Direct appeal to Trial Division by an applicant 52. (1) Where an applicant has made a request to a public body for access to a record or correction of personal information and has not filed a complaint with the commissioner under section 42, the applicant may appeal the decision, act or failure to act of the head of the public body that relates to the request directly to the Trial Division. (2) An appeal shall be commenced under subsection (1) not later than 15 business days
(a) after the applicant is notified of the decision of the head of the public body, or the date of the act or failure to act; or (b) after the date the head of the public body is considered to have refused the request under subsection 16(2). (3) Where an applicant has filed a complaint with the commissioner under section 42 and the commissioner has refused to investigate the complaint, the applicant may commence an appeal in the Trial Division of the decision, act or failure to act of the head of the public body that relates to the request for access to a record or for correction of personal information... (4) An appeal shall be commenced under subsection (3) not later than 15 business days after the applicant is notified of the commissioner's refusal under subsection 45(2).
j Information Note Department of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development Title: Ministerial visit to Norway, March 25-27, 2015 Issue: To provide an overview of the Ministerial visit to Norway in March, 2015 Background a~d Current Status: Following Minister King's participation in the Arctic Technology Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, a ministerial visit was arranged to meet with several key industry and government organizations in Trondheim and Oslo, Norway. The purpose of the visit was to explore cooperation in the areas of research and development (R&D) and to advance prospective interest in Norwegian investment in the province. In Trondheim there were meetings and site tours set-up with Statoil R&D and SINTEFIMARINTEK. In Oslo, the delegation met with Aker Solutions, the Canadian Embassy to Norway and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Overview of Meetings: Statoil R&D Statoil R&D focuses on research and technology development to achieve its ambition of becoming a stronger company. Their research is organized in different programs throughout the oil and gas value chain, including Canada. In this meeting, Henriette Undrum (Statoil's Vice President oftpd RDI Frontier Development) outlined the company's global priorities and provided an overview of their three main R&D facilities. Some of which included seismic data, enhanced oil recovery, reducing well costs, and subsea efficiencies Statoil focuses on several key R&D areas including: frontier development, subsea factory, deep water, heavy oil, and harsh environments. Also, they are currently developing solutions for the systematic decommissioning of the nearly 1 000 wells that will be set to close. One of the company's objectives is to developing a suite of products for deepwater and complex environments that can be adapted to each development, rather than developing customized approaches for each field entering production. Emphasis for new developments will be on a subsea production will take place on the sea floor. Statoil believes that NL represents a viable jurisdiction to undertake aspects of R&D related to their companies priorities, particularly as it related harsh environment development. They see existing expertise in the province such as operations in ice, ice
\ An opportunity exists to expand discussions with Statoil with a view to identifying specific competency centres to research and identify solutions for Statoil and others as they develop deepwater fields. SINTEFIMARINTEK SINTEF is the largest independent research organization in Scandinavia. It is a broadly based, multidisciplinary research institute with top-level expertise in technology, medicine and the social sciences. MARINTEK is a company within SINTEF, and develops solutions for the shipping, marine, ocean energy industries. Dr. Oddvar Eide (MARINTEK President) along with key SINTEF Vice-Presidents hosted a tour ofmarintek facilities and provided a series of presentations pertaining to MARJNTEK's current and planned activities. MARINTEK's headquarters and laboratories are in Trondheim with subsidiaries in Houston, Texas and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. MARINTEK undertakes approximately 9000 projects for over 300 customer's per year and annual sales are in the range of 400M Euro. The primary research fields include petroleum, fisheries, energy and environment. Approximately 73% of the staff are researchers incuding 150 masters students. Canadian Embassy to Norway Ambassador Artur Wilcynski hosted a meeting to discuss the Canadian embassy's role in Norway and how he could advance NL's interest in the country. While this was an introductory meeting, there was productive dialogue pertaining to R&D, investment, and business development activities specific to the oil and gas sector. The Ambassador stressed support for provincial based activities and emphasized the importance of collaboration with this market and indicated that the Trade Commissioner are ready to work with NL firms and the Provincial government. Norweeian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Discussions focused on Norway's transitioned from a fisheries~based economy to a petro-economy which has seen growth in both urban and rural areas. They outlined
several areas that would be of joint interest including high north policies, investment, j9int initiatives in R&D and greater linkage between industry associations. There was considerable interest in the Bay du Nord opportunity and should Statoil develop this opportunity, including how would the two jurisdictions work together to ensure sustainable economic development could be realized. Aker Solutions Aker Solutions is a global provider of products, systems and services to the oil and gas industry. Its engineering and technology bring discoveries into production and maximize recovery. The company employs approximately 17,000 people globally. Herve Valla (Senior Vice President, Products and Technology) with Aker solutions, along with key management, provided an overview of the company, its operations, and capabilities, and opened the discussion to potential opportunities for further expansion in Newfoundland and Labrador. The company's R&D activity is primarily project specific. Oslo is the main office for R&D however; they recognize that expanding activities in other jurisdictions (such as NL) requires the company to consider an expanded presence beyond current engineering and operations support.
AJcer (Oslo) indicated that they would follow up with Aker (Sl John's) to discuss potential for advancing research (or expansion) opportunities. Next steps for BTCRD include immediate follow up with AJcer St. John's to advance key research and development, and business expansion priorities - as discussed in Oslo. BTCRD will then facilitate development of appropriate opportunities with relevant stakeholders. Prepared I Reviewed by: B. Thome I D. Genge Approved by: Date: lune4,201~~ {~,