Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Mar 29/00) - With the signing of its impacts benefits agreement with Diavik Diamond Mines Inc., the North Slave Metis Alliance has called an end to a court action it initiated involving the mine.

"In the last few months the company and the federal government have been able to satisfy the North Slave Metis that some of the stuff we wanted to do will be done," said North Slave Metis Alliance president Clem Paul on Monday.

Another judicial review of the project, requested by the Canadian Arctic Resources Committee, is proceeding.

The Alliance filed an application in federal court for a judicial review of federal environmental approval of the project. The Dec. 1 application stated the company failed to address the affects the mine would have on the North Slave Metis people.

"(The judicial review) wasn't put in play to stop the mine," said Paul. "It was put in play to benefit the Metis."

CARC requested a judicial review because it believes the environmental assessment failed to properly address a number of environmental issues, among them exploration of alternate, less environmentally harmful, methods of mining the claim.

Though he would not say how much, Paul said money for that work was included in the impact benefits agreement. The study is a follow-up to the document Can't Live Without Work, which the Alliance produced during the comprehensive study report.

That study and the new one are being conducted by the same people, Dr. Marc G. Stevenson and Michael Thoms, said Paul.

The aim of both studies is to document the social, economic and cultural state of the North Slave Metis. Without that information, said Paul, there is no way of knowing what affect, if any, the mine has on his people.

"When the Lutsel K'e band sits at a table across from us and says 'Our divorce rate is going up, how is it affecting Metis?' we have no way of answering that," said Paul.

Paul said the study should be finished in six to eight months.