"Putting an ad in a paper on Friday and expecting people to have applications in the following Tuesday doesn't display a lot of good planning," said O'Reilly following a council committee meeting on Monday.

An ad appearing in Yellowknifer's Friday edition by the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, called for parties interested in making presentations to submit applications by Jan. 7.

DIAND are holding workshops Jan. 14-15 at the Explorer Hotel to discuss recommendations made by a consulting firm on what to do with the approximately 237,000 tons of arsenic trioxide buried underneath Giant Mine.

O'Reilly said he received a letter from DIAND about the application -- dated Dec. 23 -- only last week.

When the ad finally appeared in the newspaper with the Jan. 7 deadline, O'Reilly said he was dismayed by how little time was given for people to respond, adding, "I think this is an issue that the council and the city needs to pay very close attention to."

But DIAND said there's been a misunderstanding about the nature of the application deadline.

"The ad went out with a lot of the packages, so a lot of people would have gotten them before the actual ad appeared in the newspaper," said Bill Mitchell, manager of the Giant Mine Remedial Project.

Mitchell said the Jan. 7 deadline is flexible, and that the focus is merely to get people to attend the workshops.

"That was just a deadline to get people thinking about going to the workshop, because that is one of the requirements we have."

The ad called for presentations from groups interested in reviewing and providing feedback to DIAND on the content of the SRK Consultants final report entitled, "Arsenic Trioxide Management Alternatives, Giant Mine."

"We're flexible on the dates," Mitchell said, adding, "to a point. We want any indication of interest before the workshop. Hopefully this week, people can call and express an interest. That's all they need to do."

The workshop is on both days from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

DIAND is hosting the two-day workshop. The results of SRK Consulting's final report, DIAND's independent technical advisor, will be discussed in detail. There are two main options being proposed -- freezing the arsenic underground at an estimated cost of $106 million, or mixing it with cement and storing it in a landfill site at $253 million.