Derek Neary
Northern News Services

FORT SIMPSON (Mar 26/99) - The Deh Cho Resource Management Authority has a visioning statement to provide it with some direction as a result of a resource management conference held in Fort Simpson last week.

"There was some open discussion. That's what I really wanted out of that conference was open debate," said Dennis Nelner, executive assistant to Deh Cho First Nations Grand Chief Michael Nadli. "I think the general consensus was to continue the work in progress."

The statement will help provide a provisional mandate for the DCRMA. It is to be further developed by the DCRMA working group, which includes Nelner, Alison de Pelham, Herb Norwegian, Rick Sanderson and Michael Nadli. It will then be reviewed and ratified by DCFN leadership at some point in the near future.

Among the objectives for the DCRMA brought forth during the conference were to pursue priorities such as land-use planning and protected areas with information sharing and co-operation among the communities.

"If a (land-use) application does come in at least we've got some direction and we can follow along those lines," said Nelner.

Last Tuesday evening, concerns expressed by the Liidlii Kue First Nations (LKFN) over the staking of traditional lands were addressed at a public meeting involving officials from the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.

Chris Reid, a lawyer acting in an advisory capacity for the LKFN, was one of the most vocal individuals of the close to 20 people who attended the meeting. He called the federal government's permissiveness to allow the continuation of the "free entry" system through the Canadian Mining Regulations "appalling" and "unconscionable."

The 1997 Supreme Court ruling in the Delgamuukw case, based in British Columbia, prohibits the practice of making claims on traditional lands, according to Reid.

Last year, several plots were staked for mineral surveying on Liidlii Kue First Nations' traditional lands between Fort Simpson and Jean Marie River. Those plots are currently subject to an environmental assessment as requested by the village of Fort Simpson due to concerns about nearby water supplies.

Reid said it's "very disrespectful in addition to being illegal" to have a trapper wake up to find stakes on his traditional lands.

"A policy which is clearly illegal still exists," he contended, adding that if the court ruling had been in the government's favour things would have changed the very next day. "It's almost as if you're challenging the First Nations to take this to court."

Floyd Adlem, director of operations for DIAND, said that legal cases, such as Delgamuukw, are based on the facts specific to that case at the time. He added that the Department of Justice is still reviewing the Delgamuukw ruling and he wasn't willing to debate its implications.

Kate Hearn, director of mineral resources for DIAND, said nobody wants to go to court because that only prolongs matters. However, Hearn had mentioned earlier that DIAND Minister Jane Stewart had stated in the past that there would be no review of the Canadian Mining Regulations until land claims were complete.

That prompted Reid to exclaim, "What they're really saying is let's extinguish aboriginal title and then deal with the mining regulations."

He said there's lots of talk about Stewart being progressive yet unfair practices, such as those relating to staking, continue to be conducted.

Hearn replied that Stewart's intent was to "recognize that land claims are paramount."