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Funding first, talk later

Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Oct 20/03) - Aboriginal groups affected by the development of the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline are demanding more money from industry and government.

The Gwich'in, D'asho Got'ine and Deh Cho First Nations want this money prior to proceeding into further negotiations over pipeline benefits and access agreements.

The three groups are demanding more money to effectively prepare for the economic opportunities and social and environmental impacts the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline will create, said Wrigley Chief Tim Lennie.

If industry and government cannot provide the financial resources the First Nations are demanding, then preliminary pipeline work in the Fort Simpson region could be cancelled, said Liidlii Kue First Nation chief Keyna Norwegian.

The Liidlii Kue would then expect industry reimbursement for what the band has spent so far, Norwegian said.

The Liidlii Kue First Nation in Fort Simpson has invested tens of thousands of dollars in establishing joint ventures for the Mackenzie Gas Project's proposed winter work program, Norwegian said.

"It was like them putting a demand on us, so the onus should be on industry (to compensate)," she said.

Offers have been made

Hart Searle, spokesman for the Mackenzie Gas Project, a consortium of oil and gas companies investing in the pipeline, argues they have already made offers to cover First Nations' costs while negotiating pipeline benefits and access agreements.

The Mackenzie Gas Project is prepared to pay "all reasonable costs" associated with the Liidlii Kue's winter work program, Searle said.

Costs incurred by the Gwich'in have already been covered and a similar offer has also been made to the Deh Cho, Searle said.

Over the past year, Mackenzie Gas Project has been seeking meetings with First Nations in the Deh Cho but their pipeline working group wasn't prepared to meet until recently, Searle explained.

"I think there's some recognition that we need to do our part and governments need to do their part," Searle said.