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North Slave Metis Alliance elder Ed Jones, left, discusses issues during a break on Wednesday with Susan Enge, who spoke on behalf of the North Slave Metis Alliance at a Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board public hearing into plans by the Giant Mine remediation project team. - Lyndsay Herman/NNSL photo

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A spectator might think the government mine clean-up team and others opposed to its plans were talking about two different mines during the development of the Giant Mine remediation plan.

Throughout this week's Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board public hearing, aboriginal groups, the city and environmental organizations say they were not properly consulted during the remediation plan development while the Giant Mine remediation project team says it has made consultation with all interest groups a top priority.

Questions posed by the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, the North Slave Metis Alliance, Alternatives North and the City of Yellowknife asked why more was not done to understand and incorporate local interests.

Many followed up their questions by asking the review board for specific measures that would guarantee formalized consultation in the future.

In most cases, the Giant Mine remediation project team replied to concerns by saying all parties were able to get involved in the process through workshops and working groups and that the project team is committed to working with people as the plan is developed in the future.

Since some aspects of the remediation plan depend on environmental studies that have yet to be completed, there are still many decisions left to make. Some include the rerouting of Baker Creek and the placement of a diffuser that would emit treated mine water into Yellowknife Bay.

Bill Enge, president of the North Slave Metis Alliance, cited during the first day of presentations a lack of consultation as one of the four reasons why the alliance would not support the current remediation plan for Giant Mine.

Todd Slack, resource person for the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, asked the project team on Wednesday morning why asbestos and non-hazardous materials would be stored in a specially engineered dump on the Giant Mine site in Chief Drygeese Territory and what would be done to "secure public approval" for the decision.

Ray Case answered for the Giant Mine remediation team, stating the area is already an industrial area, which is why it is used, but he did not provide an answer for what would be done to secure public approval for the decision.

Slack repeated the question and was asked by Case to clarify it a second time.

"What specific actions has (the Giant Mine remediation project team) undertaken to convey the fact that this will not be just a frozen block into the future but that this is going to be a garbage dump?" Slack asked. "I'm not sure if I can make that clearer, the idea that you are looking for community support, community endorsement, or at least community understanding."

Case's final reply reiterated why the site was chosen but did not provide details on any plans for public approval measures. Finally, Richard Edjericon, chairperson of the Mackenzie Valley Impact Review Board, stepped in to request the questioning move on.

The City of Yellowknife also expressed disappointment Wednesday morning with the current remediation plan's lack of a land use plan. Such a plan would detail how the community could use the space once the remediation is completed.

"We spent considerable time with the developer on developing this framework," said Jeffrey Humble, director of planning and development for the City of Yellowknife. "It is the city's position that a land use plan was part or should have been part of the remediation plan.

"I've been a planner for more than 10 years and I have never seen a land use plan come at the tail end of a process. It's simple planning 101 that you look at incorporating these things as a development concept into the early stages of a major initiative. It's a half-billion-dollar project and we're seeing this essentially coming at the end of the process."

Regardless of whose account is closest to reality, the truth remains that many people still have little faith in the project team's ability to engage with local needs and desires for Giant Mine.

"The history of Giant Mine has shown us that bad management, neglect, and exploitation of the land and people are a reality," said Ed Sangris, chief of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. "After all of that, do we still trust the government to take care of our land?"

Today is the last chance for members of the public to voice their concerns before the Mackenzie Valley Impact Review Board at the public hearings. The hearing is open to spectators beginning at 9 a.m. in the Tree of Peace Friendship Centre and the floor is scheduled at 4 p.m. to be open for public comments.

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