Waiting to see if 'words of comfort' carry to the table
Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Jan 29/01) - The Dogribs are reserving judgement on the outcome of a high level meeting aimed at removing obstacles to a final agreement.
 Jim Antoine |
"Everybody's committed to trying to resolve the issues, we just need to follow up on it a bit," said Zoe.
Zoe said it was too early to say what effect the "words of comfort" spoken at the meeting will have at the negotiating table.
"The only way to gauge (how successful the meeting was) is by seeing what happens at the negotiating table," he said.
One of the key issues addressed, Zoe said, was the ability of territorial negotiators to make a decision at the negotiating table.
The Dogribs complained last year that the negotiations were being held up by the territorial negotiators who would not or could not make a decision.
Zoe said he was assured during the 45-minute to one hour meeting the territorial negotiators "have the green light to resolve all the issues within their scope."
The next negotiating session is set to begin the first week of February.
Antoine did not return calls from News/North by deadline.
