Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Feb 06/02) - Though it recognizes it will need more staff to cope with the rapid expansion of the NWT energy sector, the federal government has not determined how many jobs will be added or if any will be added at all.

"We are watching with considerable interest as energy plays develop in the North, particularly in the NWT," said Jim Moore, assistant deputy minister with the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.

"It's important that as quickly as we can we determine the magnitude of the need on the capacity front."

At current staffing and funding levels, federal and Northern regulators are having difficulty keeping up with their current workloads.

Now they face the added task of assessing the impacts of two separate mega projects -- a stand alone Mackenzie Valley pipeline and a Mackenzie Valley pipeline with an offshore link to Alaska's north slope.

Another two proposals are being pushed by pipeline companies.

It is anticipated the pipelines will spur an exploration and development boom that will add as much again to the regulatory workload.

In addition to Northern regulatory boards and DIAND, that workload will fall to the National Energy Board, Natural Resources Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, among others.

In an attempt to avoid a regulatory bottleneck, the territorial government has ratcheted up its lobbying effort in Ottawa.

This week, for example, an Ottawa newspaper carried a column by Premier Stephen Kakfwi that came up just shy of accusing the federal government of foot-dragging.

"We have a pipeline proposal. We have industry support. We have regulatory reform. What we don't have is any movement from Ottawa," Kakfwi wrote.

Moore would not say when the resource numbers would be finalized. He said officials have not determined how they will go about getting any additional funding. It could come through cabinet, the Treasury Board or through a reallocation of departmental funding.

Asked how confident he was funding could be found, Moore said, "The pressures are real. It's not up to me to speculate or determine whether they will be resourced."