Hay River Reserve (Apr 07/03) - K'atlodeeche First Nation has gone into the egg business.

The band has purchased the assets of Northern Eggs Ltd. in Hay River. The official takeover date was March 31.

Financial details of the deal were not released.

KFN is also planning to move the facility out of Hay River, where there have been concerns for many years about odour and flies. It will eventually be moved to a new state-of-the-art facility about five miles east of town on the Hay River Reserve.

"It is anticipated that the planning and the regulatory process will take some 18 months to complete," Chief Roy Fabian wrote in a March 17 letter to Hay River town council.

He wrote that construction would likely take three to six months, and the relocation would happen in two to three years.

The facility was purchased from Frank Richardson, Marjorie Richardson and two numbered companies.

The NWT Egg Producers Board has also approved a transfer of the sellers' egg quota to the KFN.

In his letter to council, Fabian wrote that the band is aware of the concerns over smell and fly infestation, and listed five improvements to be undertaken in the first 60 days. They include additional fans, landscaping and a general cleanup of the property.

Bob Bailey, the assistant deputy minister of RWED, was at town council's March 31 meeting to consult on the transfer of the egg quota.

After discussing the change with Bailey, council approved a business licence for the new operation.

Mayor Duncan McNeill said the band is attempting to address as best it can the concerns raised by the town.