Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Nov 12/99) - Tim Lennie tendered his resignation as chief of the Pehdzeh Ki First Nation last Friday, due to a lack of support from band members in regards to a highway maintenance contract dispute with the GNWT.

"Members were questioning my position," Lennie said in an interview Monday. "I believe in what I've done ... otherwise members say different. I've always stated that the members have the last say. They've expressed their opinion and life goes on I guess."

Lennie's argument is with the Department of Transportation, which recently tendered out the Wrigley Highway maintenance contract for two years to Nogha Enterprises in Fort Simpson.

"I haven't given my consent as a leader to publicly tender this contract," said Lennie. "I have a problem with them taking jobs away from our people."

A public meeting, that ran from 7 p.m. until after midnight, was held on the issue in Wrigley last Thursday. Premier Jim Antoine attended the meeting and explained the government's point of view to the close to 30 Pehdzeh Ki band members who turned out.

In an interview Tuesday, he said Wrigley had been maintaining the road in the past through their development corporation company "Cap Mountain Ventures." That company became defunct in the summer of 1998. The Department of Transportation then took over the contract, hiring people from Wrigley to operate the equipment.

Due to cost-cutting measures, the DoT informed the PKFN that they were going to look at the public tender option and a number of meetings were subsequently held, according to Antoine. A study was conducted and it determined that the PKFN would be best off partnering with another contractor to retain the contract. Liidli Kue First Nations, which owns Nogha Enterprises, indicated that they would be agreeable to a joint-venture, Antoine noted.

"But that was not acceptable to Pehdzeh Ki leadership at the time," he said.

Lennie responded that communities cannot become self-sufficient if they are forced to work in partnership situations.

The contract then went to tender and Nogha submitted the lowest of four bids, said Antoine. Nogha has hired four Wrigley residents on a permanent basis and another as a casual, he added. Lennie contends that seven or eight positions used to be available for his community members and they shouldn't have to settle for less.

At the public meeting, Lennie and some other band members were advocating taking the contract away from Nogha and giving it to the PKFN, Antoine said.

"We have no legal grounds to break that contract. If we do we're liable," he said.

He told the members of the public that the Liidli Kue First Nation may still be willing to enter a joint-venture with the PKFN, but it's something they would have to work out. It's a possible solution, he said.

In addition, the PKFN have the option of retaining the winter road contract to the north because they can continue to use government equipment there, Antoine added.

That seemed to be good enough for the majority of the public, who didn't seem willing to pursue the issue any further.

"I guess they're accepting the system the way it is," Lennie said of the band membership. "But as a leader you have to somehow ... I don't know, it's quite difficult, I guess ..."

"I've stated to my membership that I will be there to assist in any way I can, but not in the capacity as chief."

He said he feels the upcoming territorial election could jeopardize the Deh Cho First Nations' self-government talks with the federal government. The GNWT isn't wanted at the table, he said.

"Some people want self-government and also to have the (territorial) government to provide these services (like road maintenance) for them. It's not possible," he said.

There were some reports last week that a blockade was possibly going to be set up in the community, but Lennie said those reports were unfounded.

"I don't know about anybody saying anything about blocking runways or roads, I don't know how that got out. That was never my position," he said. "There were certain processes that were going to be taken if there was support ..."

Antoine assured that such drastic measures clearly weren't being supported by those at the meeting.

"They didn't want no road blockades or airport blockades because the only people that they'd be hurting was themselves," he said, adding that the health of a pregnant woman and the elders in the community were the foremost concern.