Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Oct 13/03) - Environmental and infrastructure concerns topped the list of issues at a workshop here recently.

The workshop examined the effects a Mackenzie Valley pipeline may have on the environment, the economy and social well-being. It was held in Fort Simpson on Oct. 1-2.

First Nations delegates, regulatory officers, engineers, industry representatives, heads of government departments and members of conservation groups broke into discussion groups to come up with questions such as:

How will wildlife habitat be affected?

Will hunters and trappers be compensated?

How much water will be used? Where will it come from? What training and job opportunities will exist?

Gordon Rozon, of the Mackenzie Project Environmental Group (MPEG), said answers to the numerous questions will be formulated over the next several months. Proposed mitigation measures will be brought back to the communities for further discussion, he added.

"It's going to be very difficult to go through the range of issues that we have identified," Rozon admitted. "We know we learned a lot."

Hunters need consultation

Jonas Antoine, a member of the Liidlii Kue First Nation (LKFN) in Fort Simpson, said the onslaught of tractor-trailers and barges and the waste and sewage from camps of 900 workers is bound to have an effect on wildlife and the environment. Antoine said families who still hunt and trap on the land must have everything explained to them clearly.

"This is where the OK has to come from, those families," Antoine contended.

At the same time, he criticized the LKFN for not having its chief or any band councillors present at the two-day workshop. "This is a very important process," said Antoine. "It seems the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. Let's get things together." LKFN elder Leo Norwegian said he'd prefer to see each First Nation send delegates to meet Mackenzie Gas Project's experts on the land. While there, they could set terms and conditions for building the pipeline.

Financial terms, kept separate, should include a percentage of the profit for aboriginal people, Norwegian suggested.

Gabe Hardisty, a business owner from Wrigley, said people in his community want to preserve traditional hunting and fishing areas and protect wildlife.

"There's still a lot of things that's got to be done," said Hardisty.