News Article Nov. 25, 2005

Summer has come and gone again and hopefully our groundwater industry across Canada has enjoyed a productive and prosperous work season. As I write my column snow has already fallen in the West and has been promised for Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick any day.

I will not write a lengthy newsletter this time around because much of this issue will be devoted to CanWell 2006, your National gathering taking place in Charlottetown, P.E.I. from May 17 to 21, 2006; however, there are several issues I wish to share as we begin to plan for 2006 and beyond.

The Executive of the Canadian Board of Directors was able to meet on October 26, 2005 at Charlottetown PE and October 27, 2005 at Moncton NB to discuss current issues and agenda items for the full Board meeting in May, 2006 as well as the Biennial General Meeting also in May at Charlottetown.

Members attending this meeting included President Bill Kyte, First Vice President Jim Fyfe, Second Vice President Francis Gale, the Chair of our First Nations Training Committee Jamie McDonald and myself. Issues discussed at these meetings included, but were not limited to the following:

• CanWell 2006 which included a briefing and a facility tour by Chairman Alan Robison.
• Quebec Association issues, including a three hour meeting with Quebec President, Mr. J. Lapointe and Director Simon Masse.
• An update on Petro-Canada and a meeting with an account executive from an Atlantic fuel company regarding bulk fuel rebates for Atlantic Canada.
• A discussion on a suggested retail drilling price across Canada.
• Certification issues across Canada and in particular, Canadian certification for the BC Ground Water Regulations and BC drilling industry.
• The National Silent Auction on our website. The Directors decided to extend the deadline to November 29, 2005 and to donate any remaining prizes to the silent auction at CanWell 2006.
• Issues of interest to the Newfoundland and Labrador Ground Water Association, including amalgamation of all groundwater regulations under one government department and the use of Canadian certification in that Province.
• Magazine coverage for the Canadian, including guest columns, advertising, etc. The Executive also met with the owner of a U.S. Drilling magazine who is interested in providing Canadian content in their monthly issues.
• The issue of First Nations due diligence training was discussed and a recent meeting attended by myself and President Kyte were shared with the Executive. Future meetings are expected to take place in Ottawa during 2006.
• The Executive discussed geothermal work across Canada which is becoming more and more popular with power companies, governments and individuals as the cost of energy goes through the roof. We hope to arrange a training seminar on geothermal and fusion for the Quebec members who have a chance to ring in on approximately one billion dollars in grant money offered up by the Quebec Government. We also hope to hold a geothermal demonstration for our Atlantic Canadian members at Amherst NS on December 2, 2005. My sincere thanks to Stan Marko of PowerSmart Geothermal for helping to organize these training seminars, as well as Peter Armstrong of Baroid Canada, for demonstrating grout products at these sites.

The Executive was able to join the Atlantic Water Well gathering in Moncton NB on Friday and Saturday. The Atlantic Committee put together some very interesting technical lectures including submersible motor training, geothermal drilling and fusion, water quality treatment in layman’s language, professional development for industry and an excellent outdoor demonstration hosted by The Drilling Depot with Gary Martin, John Cann and staff who also provided a barbeque lunch.

By way of an update, our 8 year old friend, Serena Cucovaz, has now completed her first well for a poor community in Africa, a total of $3,600 US dollars. Our congratulations to Serena and our thanks to all of you who helped make this project possible.

Our newest and most exciting news is the completion of an agreement with an Atlantic Canadian fuel company to provide fuel rebates to all of our Atlantic members. This will be a graduated rebate starting at 8 cents a litre for users from 5 to 50 thousand litres and moving up to 10 cents a litre for those using over 150 thousand litres. The fuels included will be diesel, gasoline and furnace oil, either supplied in bulk or at cardlock facilities. This company will also supply one cent to the Canadian Association to be split equally between the Canadian and the Provincial Association where the product is purchased. This deal was a long time in the making and I have been across Atlantic Canada recently to explain it to all our Atlantic stakeholders. In actual dollars, this could mean up to 20 thousand dollars annually to the Canadian and up to 5 thousand dollars to each of the Atlantic Provinces. I am now looking at similar deals for Central and Western Canada, as well as other fundraising possibilities.

We provided a financial update to the Executive at our recent meeting and in short, our bank balance at the end of September 2005 stood at approximately $40,000. We continue to struggle in this area but hopefully there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

In closing, it is with great sadness that I must report that since my last writing we have lost former Director, Mr. Guy Rohne. I had the pleasure to serve on the Board with Guy and very much enjoyed his kindness, cooperation and vision for the future of groundwater in Canada. I am sure I include the Canadian Board and industry when I offer our sincere condolences to Guy’s family.

That’s all from my corner. Please feel free to contact Val or myself at your convenience. Our very best wishes for a peaceful holiday and best wishes for the new year.

Congratulations to J. David Gauthier, North Rustico PEI, our most recent successful applicant for Canadian Certification.