Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Sep 14/01) - The federal government won't negotiate the terms of a Mackenzie Valley pipeline with the Deh Cho First Nations, federal negotiator Robin Aitken said Monday.

Robin Aitken: Pipeline not first on his mind.

"On the pipeline issue, they want to get this and they want to get that, we're not proceeding in that way," Aitken said. "I don't know if their expectation is for us to roll over and agree with everything they say - it isn't going to happen. The pipeline isn't in the back of my mind. It's more (on) the long-term Deh Cho Process."

The DCFN had passed a resolution in Wrigley two weeks ago declaring that they want to arrange pipeline terms with the federal government. In response to Aitken, DCFN chief negotiator Chris Reid said the Deh Cho doesn't expect to negotiate every project with Canada, but feels the pipeline is an exception.

"That's going to be a problem. It's going to drag things out if that's the case," Reid said of the government's position. "We've got some tough negotiations ahead of us."

Although the federal negotiating team has a mandate to explore an Interim Resource Development Agreement with the DCFN -- which will include resource revenue sharing -- negotiations won't be project specific, said Aitken. He added that the federal government won't turn over the access fees it collects from industry to the DCFN through the Deh Cho Process, as the DCFN has proposed.

Aitken conceded that a few self-government issues relate directly to the pipeline, such as land withdrawals (protected land from development) in light of a proposed pipeline corridor. Outside of that, the Deh Cho will have to deal primarily with the pipeline and oil and gas companies themselves, he said.

"When it comes down to some of the other issues, we're not prepared to look at those at our table," he said.

The Deh Cho has also demanded to be a full participant on any environmental assessment for the pipeline. Aitken noted that the Deh Cho had already committed to participate in the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board through its Interim Measures Agreement.

Reid said the DCFN have reiterated that they agreed to that stipulation "without prejudice," and were never satisfied with the concept.

"Certainly on a major project like this, it's not going to be enough to just have one seat out of 18 on an environmental impact review board," he argued. The next self-government negotiations session is scheduled for Fort Providence in two weeks. Reid said he hopes the federal government will modify its position before then.