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Providing coverage of Alaska and northern Canada's oil and gas industry
December 2006

Vol. 11, No. 50 Week of December 10, 2006

Clearing path for Mac gas

Deh Cho ponder offer; decision in spring; Dene Tha get federal consultation officer

Gary Park

For Petroleum News

There are signs of action to move two stumbling blocks standing in the path of the Mackenzie Gas Project.

A decision is likely this spring by the Deh Cho First Nations on whether they will accept the Canadian government’s latest land claim offer, while the government has named a chief consultation officer to consult with the Dene Tha First Nation on the Mackenzie pipeline route into northern Alberta.

Following a meeting of delegates from Deh Cho communities in late November, negotiator Georges Erasmus said the Deh Cho need more information on the jurisdiction they would have over their land before they make a final decision on the federal proposal.

The government made an offer earlier this year covering 10,000 square miles, C$104 million in cash and some additional powers.

Instead of making a counteroffer the Deh Cho leaders have opted to take more time to consider the federal proposal — an indication they are tilting towards acceptance.

Rifts appearing in Deh Cho

Those deliberations are taking place at a time when rifts have started to appear in the Deh Cho, with the communities of Fort Liard and Fort Simpson declaring they are ready to break ranks and join the Aboriginal Pipeline Group, which has a chance to take a one-third equity position in the Mackenzie pipeline.

Other Deh Cho communities who might be having second thoughts about taking a stand that could scuttle the Mackenzie project are being encouraged to consider breaking ranks.

Erasmus told CBC News that although the Deh Cho have previously insisted on owning and governing their entire region rather than sharing power with the Canadian and Northwest Territories governments, “they don’t want to close the door until they see the full hand.”

“They know it was an initial offer, a counteroffer to the Deh Cho proposal, and they want to see what it really means before they make up their minds about whether this is something they are prepared to live with,” he said.

Erasmus said more detail is required on what jurisdiction the Deh Cho would have, along with the proposed land-use plan and the amount of land and money the federal government is prepared to offer.

When that information is made available in the spring, the Deh Cho will decide whether or not they will accept the federal offer.

Meanwhile, federal Indian Affairs and Northern Development Minister Jim Prentice has been unwavering in his view that the Mackenzie project can proceed, with or without a land claim agreement.

In a separate announcement, the federal government appointed Tim Christian as chief consultation officer with the Dene Tha, responding to a Federal Court of Canada ruling in November that Ottawa had failed to properly consult with the Dene Tha, whose land is the terminus for the pipeline.

The Dene Tha said they had been shunted aside in the Mackenzie negotiations — a position the court largely endorsed by ordering a remedies hearing to solve the dispute.

Christian has long experience negotiating with first nations and was the chief federal negotiator in a 2005 out-of-court settlement with the Deh Cho on a similar dispute over pipeline consultations.

On another matter, Prentice said negotiations to reach a devolution of powers agreement with Nunavut Territory should be less complicated than achieving a settlement with the Northwest Territories because Nunavut has a single land claims organization, while the NWT involves many aboriginal groups, some of which don’t have final land claim pacts. Devolution would see some exclusive federal powers over resource development transferred to the territories, along with direct access to resource revenues.

Prentice said the government is committed to negotiating devolution agreements, but he would not speculate on how long the process might take.

The NWT has been arguing its case for years, while Nunavut, which did not become a territory until April 1, 1999, says it is already a year behind schedule.






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