NNSL (Mar 27/98) - The GNWT has brought in the big guns in the fight to bring a secondary diamond industry in the North.

It has hired two of Ottawa's most high-powered lobbyists to enforce the NWT's stand on diamonds and provide strategic advice to Yellowknife related to the development of the industry in the Northwest Territories.

"They've had paid lobbyists in Ottawa just as long as I've been involved in this," said Mayor Dave Lovell, when asked if he's heard of the lobbyists. "I haven't heard of them hiring new lobbyists. I was aware they had old lobbyists," said Lovell.

Documents filed with Industry Canada's Lobbyist Registration Branch reveal that the GNWT has commissioned two lobbyists -- for an unknown fee -- to work on GNWT files in Ottawa.

In December, two of the principal members of the Earnscliffe Strategy Group, Harry Near and Michael Robinson, signed on to do the work.

The pair will be lobbying federal government departments -- including Environment, Industry, Natural Resources and Indian and Northern Affairs -- in order to push for the development of a secondary diamond industry in the North, registry documents state.

"As far back as last October, the GNWT did have lobbyists in Ottawa working on this," added Lovell.

Yellowknife's Mayor didn't know how much these pressure groups cost but thought the good ones cost a lot.

"From my way of looking at it it's very expensive but the other thing is the results are probably worth it in some instances," said Lovell.

NWT Finance Minister John Todd said these lobbyist have been hired to do a series of things like formula financing and devolution for the GNWT and now diamond lobbying.

"These guys are connected. That's why we got them here. That's why we recruited them," said Todd.

"Calls to Intergovernmental Affairs's Richard Bargery went unreturned by press time.

Observers of the Ottawa scene say the GNWT has chosen well in employing the pair.

"Michael Robinson is a Liberal strategist and political confidant of Finance Minister Paul Martin," Ottawa's Mike Scandiffio, a columnist and regular CBC Radio commentator on Ottawa politics, said Monday. "And Harry Near, he was quite a force during the (Brian) Mulroney years."

Near served as chief of staff to two Tory energy ministers as well as playing major behind-the-scene rolls in the majorities won by the Progressive Conservatives in 1984 and 1988.

Andrew Hilton, a former managing editor of the xxxLobby Monitor, a newsletter that monitors the cloudy world of Ottawa lobbying, agrees that Earnscliffe was a wise choice.

"If you want access to the Liberals, the government of the Northwest Territories has picked a good one," he said.

At Earnscliffe, Near said it was his company's policy not to discuss a client's file. He did, however, say that the GNWT has employed his firm before this latest registration.