Energy, economic development forgotten in Ottawa
Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Mar 19/01) - If the federal government does not develop and state its policy on energy, the United States might do the job for them, said Stephen Kakfwi.
"Unless we start planning for the short term and the long term, the U.S. interests might dictate what the agenda is for the next two decades," the Northwest Territories premier said last week.
Kakfwi noted the United States is moving toward development of a North American energy policy.
U.S. president George W. Bush appointed Vice-President Dick Cheney to head up a task force aimed at reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil by increasing North American energy production.
The task force has met with Canadian officials, but so far the federal government has said nothing about its position on Canadian energy production.
"It's not about specific pipeline routes, it's about Canadian gas," Kakfwi said. "Is it worth fighting for, trying to promote development of our resources, and protecting them for the national interest and for use in U.S. markets?"
Kakfwi said the reluctance to support a northern economic development plan is likely caused by Ottawa bureaucrats reluctant to give up power.
"Anything they do to buy into our plan, they have to give up some of their jurisdiction," said the leader of the Northwest Territories, referring to officials of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.
"It means they have to let us take the lead on it. It's inherently impossible for them to be positive contributors to a plan because it means working for their own demise."
The plan -- a $330 million Northern economic development strategy -- has been in the hands of the federal government for 11 months. With $100 million in territorial funding and the remainder from the federal government, the strategy plots a course for five years of northern economic growth.
"So far we've got $3.5 million," said Kakfwi. "We still have no indication that they're prepared to give any training money. We've lost a year."
Kakfwi said the plan calls on Ottawa to let the territorial government assume greater responsibility for the establishment and delivery of training programs and administration of economic development funding.
"They need between 70 and 100 people just in their oil and gas section ... The bureaucracy wants to put that all back in Hull again," said Kakfwi.
"We have said under no conditions should those positions be allowed to go back in Hull again. It was a mistake in the 70s to do that and it would be totally totally unacceptable to do that again."
