Dave Sullivan
Northern News Services

Hay River Reserve (Mar 22/02) - Let the free market decide what royalties should be paid for oil and gas under Deh Cho lands, the DCFN's chief negotiator suggested.

"We proposed a bidding system for the right to explore," Chris Reid told leaders at an assembly on March 13. "Let market forces come up with an appropriate royalty."

Before the bidding idea came up a few months ago, Reid proposed a 50 per cent royalty as a temporary measure. The government counter-proposed with 12.25 per cent of the first $2 million and 2.45 per cent of everything above that on a territory-wide basis.

According to a rough government estimate, Deh Cho First Nation (DCFN) would receive proceeds worth between $1 and $3 million a year.

"We've said that won't be enough for the Deh Cho to open land for exploration," said Reid.

There is speculation that Deh Cho could be sitting on $40 billion worth of oil and gas reserves. In return for sharing royalties, the federal side wants a blanket commitment that the Deh Cho will be wide open to oil and gas companies, Reid said. But he has countered that DCFN wants veto power over individual proposals, and a separate agreement that would remove Deh Cho from the territory-wide pot of royalties.

"That's where it's getting tough right now."

If a bidding system is agreed on, disagreement would remain over when it could be put in place. According to Reid, federal negotiators will accept that type of set-up only in a final agreement expected years from now, not during the interim.

Land withdrawals stalled

On another issue, Reid said negotiations have stalled over picking Deh Cho land on which development would be banned.

The issue, called land withdrawals, would bar leasing and staking land for resource development until a final agreement is reached.

"Canada has dug in their heels and in our view has not negotiated in good faith," Reid told Deh Cho chiefs and elders.

For one kilometre on each side of the Mackenzie River, the Mackenzie bison sanctuary and a patch of land near Fort Simpson, federal negotiators "refuse to withdraw," Reid said.

There is agreement on land withdrawals from large tracts of land in the Trout Lake area and South Nahanni watershed, Reid reported.

On yet another sore point, the Deh Cho could be moving closer to a legal challenge of federal government plans to streamline a pipeline environmental review.

"There was a breach of responsibility on the federal government's part," said Grand Chief Michael Nadli, who added that the streamlining plan "infringes on DCFN treaty rights and the Deh Cho process." He said a committee of chiefs will review three legal opinions received on the matter and make recommendations April 8.

That's the date of DCFN's spring leadership assembly, tentatively set for Jean Marie River.