The Deh Cho First Nations have heaped more coals on the legal fires as they try to halt the Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline environmental review.
On the heels of a lawsuit filed in the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories they opened a second court front Sept. 16 by asking the Federal Court of Canada for a permanent injunction to halt the review.
In the process, the Deh Cho also alleged that some of the seven members on the review panel have publicly expressed their support for the pipeline, thus undermining the panel’s supposed impartiality.
Deh Cho Grand Chief Herb Norwegian said the legal actions underscore his community’s determination to “use every means necessary” to stop the review and prevent the Canadian government from “trampling on our rights” while land claims and self government negotiations are still unresolved.
Control of 52,000 square miles at issue
At issue is control over 52,000 square miles, along with sharing revenue from resource development and deciding how projects proceed.
Compounding the tensions is word that partners in the Mackenzie Gas Project consortium will file their main applications with regulators by the end of September.
Bob Reid, president of the Aboriginal Pipeline Group, one of the Mackenzie partners, told a Yellowknife conference Sept. 15 that 16,000 pages of applications are almost ready to go to regulators and kick off a possible two-year review.
Canada’s Natural Resources Minister John Efford said in Calgary earlier in September that he is open to discussing the Deh Cho’s claim for better representation on the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board panel.
He said the government wants to work “with all parties to make sure that the Mackenzie Valley pipeline goes ahead.”
According to a board spokesman, the Deh Cho and Norwegian ignored two formal invitations last spring to name a representative to the panel.
As a result, Percy Hardisty, former chief of the Pehdzeh Ki First Nation, one of 13 communities making up the Deh Cho, was appointed to the panel.
Deh Cho land claims not settled
The Deh Cho have spurned that selection.
Neither do they acknowledge the authority of the Mackenzie Valley board, arguing the land claim negotiations will eventually give them environmental control over their own territory, which covers the lower 40 percent of the pipeline route.
The Deh Cho are also unhappy that the Sahtu, Gwich’in and Inuvialuit of the Mackenzie Delta were able to pick their own representatives on the panel because they have land claim settlements dating back to the 1980s.
Norwegian, while insisting his people are eager to participate in oil and gas development, has accused companies of offering Deh Cho residents nothing more than temporary jobs without making a serious effort to deal with the larger issues.
Unless there is a change of attitude by the Mackenzie companies “they could lose their window of opportunity,” he has warned.
Although the Mackenzie partners have consistently refused to get drawn into the Deh Cho dispute, the anxiety over the impending court actions was expressed by Brendan Bell, the Northwest Territories minister of resources, wildlife and economic development.
“I find it hard to imagine that good things will come from a long, drawn out court process and really would encourage (both the Deh Cho and federal government) to get back to the negotiating table and deal with this,” he said.
“If things are proceeding before the courts, they likely won’t be proceeding at the negotiation table and that’s a bad trade off.”
