NWT - Perhaps there's no more telling indication of what it's been like to serve on the much-maligned, much-debated Joint Review Panel than the fact that when News/North recently called panel member Percy Hardisty at his home in Fort Simpson, the first thing he said, guardedly, was, "Who's speaking?"

From left, Joint Review Panel members Tyson Pertschy, Robert Hornal and Percy Hardisty conduct a community hearing on the Mackenzie Gas Project in Fort Simpson in February 2006. Hardisty has spoken to News/North about his experience on the much-debated panel, saying he and other JRP members were under "tremendous pressure" while completing their assessment of the potential environmental and socio-economic impacts of the pipeline. - NNSL file photo

The seven members of the JRP – tasked in August 2004 to conduct a review of the potential environmental and socio-economic impacts of the Mackenzie Gas Project – have been the subject of continuous criticism ever since the panel first indicated that its report would not be delivered on time. The report was supposed to be released within 10 months of the panel's formation.

In the years leading up to the December 2009 release of that much-anticipated report – which ultimately favoured the project but also called for wildlife protection plans and greenhouse gas emission targets – proponents and observers not only bashed the panel for taking so much time but also came to question the JRP's quasi-judicial nature.

At the 2008 Inuvik Petroleum Show, Nellie Cournoyea, CEO of Inuvialuit Regional Corp., said, "We're told, 'Be cautious, because the JRP is a quasi-judiciary body. Hands off.'

"But maybe we should stop worrying about 'hands-off.' Something has to happen to jerk the oil and gas industry together."

Even when scrutiny reached fever pitch, panel members never spoke for themselves, instead relying on either Paula Pacholek, former JRP manager, or the Yellowknife-based office of the Northern Gas Project Secretariat, which was shut down by the federal government in August.

"I promise you – they're not going to talk to you," said Kevin O'Reilly, a member of the Yellowknife social justice group Alternatives North.

But for the first time, News/North has interviewed a panel member – albeit briefly – to get an idea of what it was like to be a part the JRP.

"I only have one word: challenging," said Percy Hardisty, two-time former chief of Wrigley. "There were so many factors involved, so many people involved. It was very difficult at times because of the tremendous pressure that the individuals were under."

Living in the North – Hardisty currently resides in Fort Simpson, population: 1,283 – meant his work followed him everywhere he went.

"...It was challenging – people continuously after you for answers and stuff, so it's been a difficult time," he said.

Working on the panel was a full-time job, for which Hardisty was paid $500 a day. Hardisty quit his previous position as a Deh Cho board member on the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board (MVEIRB) to serve on the panel.

After the JRP report was released, Hardisty returned to the review board, according to MVEIRB's website.

But even with the JRP report out – and the JRP's response to the territorial and federal government's proposed changes to its recommendations now filed – the panel is still coming under fire, said Hardisty.

"We're still scrutinized even after," he said.

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