Dave Sullivan
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Sep 07/01) - The Deh Cho and territorial governments don't agree over who controls the land.

In the end, a court could decide if a pipeline can be built through the Deh Cho part of the Mackenzie Valley.

Finance Minister Joe Handley claims nothing can legally stop a pipeline through Deh Cho territory, despite the First Nation deciding last week it would not grant permission in the foreseeable future.

Handley wants work to start right away, saying it can be stopped down the road if royalty terms aren't agreeable by then.

"It has to go through a regulatory process, and that's the opportunity for anyone who objects to voice their concerns. We can't just put everything on hold until they change their mind," Handley said.

But a negotiator for the other side said any attempt to start building a pipeline now would be stopped in its tracks before reaching Deh Cho country.

The Deh Cho could take the GNWT to court, said chief negotiator Chris Reid.

Court victory is almost certain, he said, because going against what DCFN wants for the land would violate treaty rights.

Reid downplays a broad agreement signed in January designed to bridge an estimated eight years it will take to finish negotiating self-government and royalties.

"The interim measures agreement doesn't cover everything. There's a lot of ambiguity there," Reid said.

Handley said of the agreement and a pipeline: "I don't see anything in there that says they can stop it."

Reid said the oil companies previously assured him there would be no pipeline without Deh Cho permission. Yet Handley said that when he spoke with the companies separately on Friday, "that's not what they told me."

Their representatives told him Deh Cho approval was not required for them to proceed with a proposal.

"None of them are saying we absolutely need the Deh Cho support," Handley said.

A spokesperson for Imperial, the lead company in a consortium wanting a northern pipeline, said it's too early after the Deh Cho's latest assembly last week to say whether companies would try proceeding without Deh Cho permission.

"Once we've had a chance to study and assess the (assembly's) resolution, we'll be in a better position to comment," Heart Searle said.

At Hay River meetings last spring, producers said they wanted aboriginal support to be unanimous.

"That's still our desire today. Now obviously the resolution creates a different dynamic here," Searle said.

Reid predicted industry still won't proceed without a green light from the Deh Cho.

"Nobody wants to see the confrontation that would result," he said.