by Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services

NNSL (Sep 29/97) - Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Jane Stewart has re-introduced the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act in the House of Commons.

Bill C-6, based on Gwich'in and Sahtu land claim agreements made in 1992 and 1993 respectively, is more than two years late, and the delay prompted a $2-million lawsuit by the Gwich'in.

It dates back to the failed 1990 Dene-Metis agreement-in-principle and both Gwich'in and Sahtu land claims call the both to be established by the end of 1994.

"The bill will also ensure that Northerners and aboriginal people will have a decisive role in decisions affecting their lands and their lives."

Given first reading on Friday, the bill establishes the mandate, duties and responsibilities for each board and their interrelationships.

It will create Gwich'in and Sahtu land use planning boards, a Mackenzie Valley land and water board and an environmental impact assessment and review board. The bill requires 50 per cent of board members be nominated by First Nations and the other 50 percent by NWT and federal governments.

Industry will benefit because it will provide a single board for obtaining water licences and land use permits.

After second reading, Bill C-6 will likely be turned over to the committee on aboriginal affairs and northern development said Gary Nicholl, acting director of resource policies and transfers for the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs.

Opposition to the bill will likely come from South Mackenzie First Nations organizations who have not negotiated land claims.

The South Mackenzie organizations suspect the agreement could impose a regime in some aboriginal settlement areas that would prejudice their ability to freely negotiate claims, Nicholl said.

After the Gwich'in and Sahtu agreements, Ottawa committed itself in writing to have the matter resolved within two years.

Bill C-6 was formerly Bill C-80, which died when Parliament was dissolved in the spring.

The Mackenzie Valley is that part of the NWT included in the Inuvialuit or Nunavut settlement areas. It shares borders with the Yukon to the west, the Inuvialuit to the north and Nunavut to the east. Its southern boundary is the 60th parallel.