Fort Simpson (Feb 06/04) - The government of the Northwest Territories isn't doing enough to help communities in the Deh Cho cope with the impending pipeline boom, said Nahendeh MLA Kevin Menicoche.

"There's a deficiency here that must be addressed," said Menicoche.

"The GNWT wants development, but what are we doing about it?"

One of the main problems is that many of the Deh Cho's civic and band officials simply don't have the resources or expertise to negotiate with oil companies on a level playing field, he said.

"In the past, community leaders have signed documents and it turns around to bite them," he said.

Local representatives are often overwhelmed by the massive amount of paperwork -- some of it highly technical -- accompanying the negotiations said Dennis Nelner, a councillor with the Liidlii Kue First Nation.

"Sometimes we receive a stack of paper a foot high and we can't possibly deal with all of it," he said.

The government isn't prepared to deal with the negative social effects -- including drunkenness and violence -- that could accompany construction of the pipeline, said Menicoche.

"During construction of the Enbridge pipeline (in the 1980s) workers at some of the camps would come into town and everybody would get drunk. That's obviously something we don't want to see again," he said.

During last week's session of the legislative assembly, Menicoche proposed a pipeline readiness office in Fort Simpson to help deal with some of these problems.

Menicoche called it a resource centre for local governments and a central contact point for industry.

"Ideally, it will provide answers for the communities and help co-ordinate the government's efforts," said Menichoche.

Currently, there is a federal pipeline readiness office in Yellowknife run by the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.

The federal and territorial governments have the Northern Gas Pipeline Secretariat, also based out of Yellowknife. But those offices aren't very useful for communities in the Deh Cho said Andrew Gaule, head of the Fort Simpson Chamber of Commerce.

"Why are they (in Yellowknife)?" asked Gaule. "More resources need to be placed in the communities that will be directly affected by the pipeline."

While Menicoche said he is pressing the issue with his fellow MLAs, there is no immediate timetable for the construction of such a facility in Fort Simpson.

"I've learned that things don't happen overnight," said Menicoche. "But we have enough time, so long as we act within the year."