Malcolm Gorrill
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Oct 13/00) - The debate over pipeline proposals in the Mackenzie Delta and in Alaska has reached the front page of the New York Times.

Ian Butters of the GNWT's Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development has sent The Drum a copy of an article from the Sept. 28th issue of The Times.

The article, written by James Brooke, describes the increasing demands among Americans to be less reliant on OPEC for fuel, as well as a growing demand for natural gas, which gives off fewer emissions than oil and thus is less harmful.

According to the article, Canada supplies 16 per cent of the natural gas consumed annually in the U.S., with consumption there expected to reach 31.5 trillion cubic feet by 2020.

Enter proposals to build pipelines down the Mackenzie Valley and in Alaska. The article discusses the various pros and cons of each pipeline, as well as concerns from environmentalists.

The article also describes how the role played by aboriginals in the Mackenzie Delta has changed since the pipeline was first proposed in the 1970s.

The article describes how the aboriginal groups are in a much better position to reap benefits from such development, and Premier Stephen Kakfwi derides those environmentalists who would stop a pipeline.

"My people were Stone Age people 30 years ago," Kakfwi is quoted as saying. "We have embarked on a journey and we can't turn back. To say, 'You should be a happy little tree hugger, choking rabbits, while everyone else exploits your diamonds and gas' -- no, I don't think so."