by Arthur Milnes
Northern News Services

FORT SIMPSON (Apr 10/98) - If you want information on the Deh Cho Proposal -- talk to Michael Cazon.

The 38-year-old Fort Simpson resident took up duties as the Deh Cho First Nations (DCFN) information officer early last month. He says that his main job is to answer any questions the public may have about the Deh Cho Proposal, the DCFN's self-government plan which Ottawa and the DCFN have been deadlocked over for the last few years.

"My job is to inform people on updates and update people on the Deh Cho Proposal," he said earlier this week in an interview. "I've been encouraging people to read up on the proposal and sharing with people the Declaration of Rights of the Deh Cho First Nations."

Recently, Ottawa's Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND), and the DCFN agreed to appoint a ministerial envoy to break the logjam between the two groups over the Deh Cho Proposal. Peter Russell, a respected professor from one of Canada's most prestigious universities, the University of Toronto, has agreed to serve in the post.

Cazon says that information he gathers during his contract with the DCFN -- until the end of July 1998 -- will be used to assist Russell.

"People should be able to say what they feel," he said. "If they have any questions or concerns, they would all be helpful... Everybody is welcome."

Cazon can be reached at the DCFN office in Fort Simpson.

Similar officers have been appointed to serve the same task in the other Deh Cho communities, he said.