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Wilson gets direction

Mayor directed to 'smile and nod his head a lot'

Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Sep 06/02) - When visiting CanTung mine, Mayor Tom Wilson has bee instructed by village councillors to be cordial.

Wilson will be part of a regional delegation to tour the tungsten mine site with Resources and Economic Development Minister Jim Antoine.

At Tuesday's council meeting, councillors Pat Rowe and Duncan Canvin wanted to know why the mayor's report didn't mention his upcoming trip to CanTung.

"Some of the council members are hearing about it for the first time," Canvin noted.

"If we're not let in on the little loop ... it falls under dictatorship," said Rowe.

Wilson later said the omission was a "slip up."

Rowe and Canvin, both shareholders in mine owner North American Tungsten, urged Wilson to be friendly to mine president Udo von Doehren.

"We're not in a position to tell CanTung what we want from them. There will be no hammer on the table," Rowe said.

He noted Watson Lake, Yukon, is closer to the mine and therefore has an advantage over Fort Simpson.

"We can't demand jobs."

Coun. Jim Villeneuve remarked, "Kiss ass, that's what it's called."

Wilson's last encounter with von Doehren, in Yellowknife in November, put von Doehren on the defensive, according to Wilson himself.

In order to avoid a similar situation, Canvin advised Wilson to "smile and nod his head a lot."

Wilson said he has been trying to impress upon von Doehren that Fort Simpson wants more business and benefits from the mining operation.

Located nearly 400 kilometres west of the community, CanTung went back into production in January.

After Monday's council meeting, Wilson said he does indeed represent the councillors and takes their directives into account.

"As Duncan (Canvin) said, and he's quite right, I'm the voice of the council," he said.