Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Sep 20/02) - With an extensive career in the oil and gas industry under his belt, Bob Norwegian said he has returned to Fort Simpson to "give something back to his people."

Norwegian, who spent much of the past 30 years living in Alberta and working for NOVA Gas Transmissions, is the regional liaison for the Mackenzie Gas Project's Fort Simpson office.

"My own general purpose is to educate our people about the pipeline. If I could do that it's a great big step in the right direction," he said. "I could make a little bit of a difference, I think."

He said youth in the Deh Cho stand to make a good living from industry the way he has if they're committed to education and training.

As for the political uncertainty that still exists in the region as the Deh Cho First Nations strive to achieve self government, Norwegian said he's not sure how he will handle that situation other than through providing information. He said he is sure pipelines, logging and other forms of development are inevitable in the Deh Cho, however.

"You cannot put the wall up and say, 'Nothing's going to happen here for another 1,000 years.' That's not realistic," he said.

"I'm not going to try to sell my people off and say this is the best thing since sliced bread, but on the other hand, I'm not going to say, 'This (pipeline) is no good, don't go along with it.' "

His brother, Herb Norwegian, assistant negotiator for the Deh Cho First Nations, stopped by the Mackenzie Gas Project's open house at their new regional office on Monday. Although there has been a history of tension between the Deh Cho First Nations and industry, Herb said he thinks he brother was a good choice for the regional liaison position. Bob knows the land and understands the people and the issues, Herb noted.

"We come from the same people, we're just in different lines of work," he said.