Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Feb 06/02) - A key tool to measure and minimize the impact of development may not be available until after most of the mega projects are done.

With oil and gas exploration and development swinging into high gear, pipeline proposals on the front burner, and billion dollar diamond mines already approved, the development of a process for gauging the combined effects of different projects is almost two years behind schedule.

In his 1999 approval of the Diavik diamond project, federal Environment Minister David Anderson committed to establish a framework to gauge cumulative effects.

Environmental assessments now focus almost exclusively on the effects of individual projects.

Anderson set March 31, 2000, as the deadline for submitting an action plan to finalize the cumulative effects management framework. The framework was to be implemented by April 1, 2001.

So far, there is no action plan to submit and no framework to implement.

"We're closer, but we've still got a long way to go," said Kevin O'Reilly, environmental representative on the steering committee developing the framework.

"I think there's some questions about the political commitment (to the framework) and providing the funding needed to get this implemented."

The steering committee held a two-day workshop in Yellowknife last week, partly aimed at developing a budget presentation for the coming year.

O'Reilly is not the first person to question the federal government's commitment to the framework. Last year Gwich'in, Sahtu and Inuvialuit leaders abandoned their seats on the steering committee because of the lack of funding.

Last year federal funding, which comes from the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, arrived half way through the financial year. The department provided $450,000.

The National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy recommended the federal government provide $25.8 million over six years to ensure the timely development and implementation of the framework.

An independent advisory group, NRTEE is composed of prominent Canadians, including Yellowknife's Cindy Kenny-Gilday, who was appointed by the Prime Minister.

In their comments on environmental assessments, regulators and aboriginal groups, they repeatedly refer to the need to take a closer look at the combined impacts of development.

Calls to the consultancy facilitating the process and to the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs were not returned by deadline.