Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline hits new snag
First Nation wants wilderness plan first
LISA SCHMIDT, CanWest News Service
Montréal Gazette, Calgary Herald
April 05, 2007
The last aboriginal holdout to the Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline is putting up another hurdle to its development, calling on the federal government yesterday to protect vast swaths of northern wilderness before the project can proceed.
Deh Cho First Nation Chief Herb Norwegian said Ottawa should approve the band's land use plan, which would set aside 60 per cent of its lands in the Northwest Territories as conservation areas, including national parks and wildlife areas, and open the rest for development.
"If there's no plan, there will be no pipeline," Norwegian said at a news conference with environmental leaders. "They've been dragging their heels, they just haven't moved on any issues."
The 1,220-kilometre pipeline, seen to be key to unlocking large Arctic gas reserves, has been plagued by regulatory delays and soaring cost estimates, which project leader Imperial Oil Ltd. said last month have more than doubled to $16.2 billion.
About 40 per cent of the proposed pipeline crosses lands claimed by the Deh Cho, the only major aboriginal group that hasn't yet signed onto the pipeline.
The land use plan was developed over four years and approved by the band last June. But Norwegian said federal negotiators rejected it, saying it places too much emphasis on conservation.
A spokeswoman for Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice, who is heading up the pipeline file, said talks continue on the land use plan.
"We've made it clear to the Deh Cho ... that we're willing to work with them on the land use plan in order to find a satisfactory solution for all sides. But that being said, the place to resolve issues is at the negotiation table," press secretary Deirdra McCracken said.
Environmentalists backed the land use plan yesterday, criticizing Ottawa for moving so slowly on it. "It borders on the unbelievable to think that we would squander this opportunity to protect this world-class area," said Harvey Locke, spokesman for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.
Calgary Herald
© The Gazette (Montreal) 2007
