Step forward for Mac line

Dene Tha get C$25M for economic, cultural concerns and promise to end litigation

Gary Park

For Petroleum News

The Canadian government has negotiated a C$25 million settlement with an aboriginal community of 2,500 in northwestern Alberta, laying the groundwork to resolve other First Nations’ disputes blocking progress on the Mackenzie Gas Project.

Indian Affairs and Northern Development Minister Jim Prentice said the deal with the Dene Tha First Nation is proof the federal government is ready to help overcome the concerns of aboriginal groups over the impact of the MGP on their communities.

“In turn, we have generated greater certainty around the (MGP), ensuring that if it is approved it may proceed unimpeded.”

A Joint Review Panel examining social and economic matters is now able to issue a final report after it concludes hearings in November and send its recommendations to the National Energy Board, which is expected to make final rulings on the MGP application in 2008.

Under the settlement, the Dene Tha will use the C$25 million to address possible economic and cultural impacts resulting from the construction and operation of the Mackenzie Valley pipeline into northern Alberta, where it will connect with the North American gas pipeline network.

In return the First Nation will end any further litigation to prevent or delay development of the Mackenzie pipeline, having earlier threatened to demand that some of the hearings should be reopened, further delaying an already drawn-out process.

Dene Tha Chief James Ahnassay said the agreement signals the federal government and the industry “will work with us to ensure our treaty and aboriginal rights … are respected.”

“The potential impact on our communities of big sector energy projects has been a concern for us in the past and remains a concern with the MGP,” he said.

Dene Tha had been excluded from socio-economic funds

Excluded from that plan, the Dene Tha took their case to federal court, where a judge ruled last November the community had not been fully consulted.

The government appealed that ruling and is awaiting a decision.

It said the Dene Tha settlement is independent of that appeal, which is designed to clarify the law relating to aboriginal consultation.

Northwest Territories Industry Minister Brendan Bell said the agreement contains the hope of avoiding “some legal hurdles down the road, when the last thing we need is more delays.”

Bob Freedman, an attorney for the Dene Tha, told reporters the settlement forces the government to work with First Nations rather than fighting “every single request” to be part of the consultations.

In a similar dispute, the Deh Cho First Nations of the NWT, whose land covers about 40 percent of the Mackenzie pipeline route, argued in 2004 they had been excluded from the MGP environmental review.

That matter was settled out of court, with the Deh Cho receiving C$32.5 million in federal money.

But the Deh Cho and one community in the Sahtu region have yet to sign off on benefits and access agreements with Imperial Oil, operator of the MGP.

Other First Nations’ disputes

In a ruling July 20, the Federal Court of Canada basically quashed permits awarded to Paramount Resources to explore for natural gas in the southern NWT after the court decided the government had not properly consulted with the Ka’a’Gee Tu First Nation and ordered all sides to renegotiate the terms of Paramount’s plan to expand gas drilling in the Cameron Hills area.

A spokesman for the Ka’a’Gee Tu said the community was “not out to stop development,” but it wants the right to discuss what takes place on traditional land.

In addition, the Woodland Cree of northwestern Alberta are involved in a dispute over plans by Royal Dutch Shell for a 100,000 barrel-per-day oil sands project in Peace River.

Freedman said the government has failed to respond to letters from the Woodland Cree outlining various concerns.

He said the courts have repeatedly told governments to “consult early, but at the same time, on virtually every project, the government resists consulting early or at all in some cases.”

Freedman said the government seems to think it alone has the power to put project review processes in place,” adding “the law is clearly going against them.”

For now, he said the Woodland Cree have made it clear to Shell and the government there will be litigation unless they meet their obligations.

Also faced with aboriginal opposition is the Enbridge plan to build the Gateway oil sands pipeline from Alberta to the British Columbia coast. The proposed route crosses land involved in unsettled aboriginal claims.