Lynn Lau
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Jun 11/01) - Vern Christensen is a glass half-full, look on the bright side kind of guy.
Ask him how his team did at this year's Canadian Senior Men's Curling Championships in Calgary this January. He'll say: "We were quite proud of ourselves. We had a great time. If we get to go next year, we'll be able to put all that learning experience to use."
Ask him again. "We won a couple games."
Ask one more time... "We were near the bottom," he'll laugh. "But we did well, I like to say we did well."
That kind of positive thinking is going to be real asset in his new job, as the executive director of Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board. Formed in 1998, the board got off to a rocky start with some developers who complained that the process was too slow.
Christensen, 50, took over the position in May from acting executive director Roland Semjanovs. Semjanovs was filling in after Heidi Klein left the board in December, 2000.
The board was created by the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, an ambitious piece of legislation unique for its broad mandate and its requirement for a full environmental assessment of all cases that are referred to it.
Municipalities, First Nations, government departments and other agencies can refer a development to the board if they believe it will have adverse environmental, social, cultural or economic effects.
"We're on the learning curve for sure," Christensen says. "But what we're trying to do is balance the need for quality environmental assessment and at the same time try to be efficient in the work that we do."
His first task will be to survey the way the development permit process works in other jurisdictions.
"We're trying to see if there are things we could do better," he said.
With the De Beers Snap Lake diamond project now before the board and the Mackenzie Valley pipeline project on the horizon, the pressure is on.
"We will be working with other regulatory agencies to make sure that we have an efficient process in place," Christensen said.
Christensen is a Northerner from Hay River who has lived in Yellowknife since he was 16. He earned his chemical engineering degree from the University of Alberta in 1972 and a year later, returned to Yellowknife and a position with the federal Environmental Protection Service.
In 1976, he moved to the territorial government and a department now called Municipal and Community Affairs. His job was to improve water and sanitation services in remote communities.
"It was very rewarding because over the course of time, you were able to see the improvement of facilities and the condition of life as a direct result of that work," Christensen says.
In 1982, he went back to school, this time to Queen's University in Kingston and earned a master's degree in business administration.
Christensen returned to the department as director of community works and capital planning.In 1989 he become assistant deputy minister. The position was eliminated last year in government downsizing. He worked as a consulting engineer until his appointment as executive director of the board.
Christensen is the divorced father of three, Julia, 22, who is at the University of British Columbia earning a degree in international relations, Jocelyn, 20, who is in the banking business, and Michael, 17, who is studying to become an electrician.
