Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jan 28/00) - The recent rash of outrage Yellowknife politicians and business people have expressed over the potential delay in the Diavik project is misplaced, say Northern environmentalists.

"I know people want to get on with this, but I think that it has to be done properly," said Karen Hamre, representing the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society NWT.

"As a taxpayer I don't want to be footing the bill again."

Hamre was referring to the federal government's task of paying for the cleanup of both Giant and Colomac mines.

The Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development faced heavy criticism from business and political leaders last week for refusing to issue Diavik an interim land-use permit. The permit would have allowed the company to do preliminary construction work at the diamond mine it is proposing to build 280 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife.

But Canadian Arctic Resources Committee (CARC) research director Kevin O'Reilly said the government would have violated its own rules by granting such a permit.

In a Jan. 11 letter CARC wrote to Indian Affairs and Northern Development Minister Robert Nault, which recommended the permit be denied, CARC pointed out the department would be violating its own rules in issuing the permit.

CARC pointed to a passage in DIAND's report on the environmental review of the project -- "The agreements and regulatory approvals must be in place before the project proceeds."

"That's very straightforward," said O'Reilly.

During a visit to Yellowknife last week, Nault said his department had little choice but to turn down the interim permit.

"We haven't done an end run on anyone," said Nault, referring to accusations by Diavik and those protesting the permit refusal that DIAND changed the rules for approving the project.

"If we don't (turn down the permit request) we certainly are held liable," said Nault.

"It would be considered to be obvious to some of us that there are people out there who would sue us for not meeting our own laws. I have no intentions of allowing that to happen."

At the request of CARC and the North Slave Metis Alliance, the federal government's environmental approval of the Diavik project is being reviewed by a judge.

O'Reilly said the court is now dealing with preliminary motions from both sides and has yet to set a date to rule on the matter. He said CARC is not asking for the project to be delayed pending the outcome of the review.

Directors of Ecology North had not formulated a position on the Diavik issue and had no comment.

In justifying his decision, Nault raised the spectre of Giant mine and the estimated $200 million clean-up cost taxpayers are left with following the bankruptcy of owner Royal Oak. Those criticizing the decision responded that Giant was an old mine, established at a time when there were few regulatory rules.

Hamre said that defence cannot be made for Colomac, which went into operation in 1990. Taxpayers were stuck with the bill for the cleanup of that mine, also a former Royal Oak property.