FORT SIMPSON - The Dehcho First Nations are standing firmly behind the Dehcho Land Use Plan and its planning committee, according to Grand Chief Herb Norwegian.

Norwegian is responding to issues raised during Deh Cho Process negotiations.

Both Heidi Wiebe, executive director for the Dehcho Land Use Planning Committee, and Grand Chief Herb Norwegian, seen here making a presentation to the Joint Review Panel on the plan last year, disagree with the federal government's suggestion that the committee should be dissolved. - NNSL file photo

Both the governments of Canada and the Northwest Territories have raised serious concerns about elements of the Dehcho Land Use Plan, said Tim Christian, the chief federal negotiator.

"The plan in its current form will not be approved by either government," said Christian.

The federal government wants to remove the committee because of disagreements over the level of conservation. Currently the plan prohibits almost all forms of non-renewable development in 69 per cent of the region.

For a number of years the federal representatives have said the government wants lower levels of conservation. The committee heard that feedback, but it wasn't supported in the communities, said Heidi Wiebe, the executive director for the Dehcho Land Use Planning Committee.

The governments have proposed 40 per cent conservation, said Christian. Sixty-nine percent is too high a number and is out of balance with the rest of the territory and the world, he suggested. That level of conservation also wouldn't allow enough development for the region to be sustainable, he said.

"This is not a balanced approach to land use planning in this region," said Christian.

Grand Chief Herb Norwegian said the DFN is willing to negotiate the conservation levels and other aspects of the plan.

"I think we can sort of meet each other halfway," said Norwegian.

Norwegian said DFN offered federal negotiators a chance to propose changes to help salvage the plan following negotiations late last year in Edmonton but there was no reply.

Without the land use plan, Norwegian said the idea of land selection won't be convincing to the region's residents.

"We feel that the land use plan and land selection go hand in hand," he said.

A functioning land use plan will be part of the final agreement on the Dehcho Process, said Christian.

"We want to get to a deal here," Christian said.

Norwegian said DFN will continue to support the planning committee. If it comes down to it, Dehcho First Nations (DFN) will come up with the money to fund the committee, said Norwegian.

Over the past four years the committee has received approximately $1 million yearly from the federal government.

"We'll continue to keep the pressure on Canada." said Norwegian.

Other government concerns include the level of conservation, components that don't all fit within the current legislative and policy framework and the fact the plan doesn't reflect the land selection model put forward by the federal government.

Changes that are needed won't be made by the Dehcho Land Use Planning Committee, said Christian. The concerns are differences of interests and not just technical issues, so it would be appropriate to resolve the issues among the three parties instead of turning them over to the planning committee again, he said.

A side table will be created to deal with all of the land related issues in the overall negotiations for the Dehcho Process.

The technical expertise of the planning committee will still be required, but in the governments' views they've finished their job, Christian said.

The committee still has a role to play, Wiebe said.

"We're a little surprised by their position about replacing the committee with side table negotiations," she said.

The committee holds the expertise on the plan and anyone trying to take over revisions would have a difficult time getting approval for the plan from the communities, Wiebe said.

Now that all the parties including the federal and territorial governments and DFN are on level footing at the negotiations table, changes can be discussed, she added.

The next negotiation session is scheduled for Feb. 7-8 in Hay River.