Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Apr 09/04) - A federal environment official has been exonerated of conflict of interest allegations levelled by the Deh Cho First Nations.

A report by investigating lawyer Vincent O'Donnell, released publicly on Tuesday, concluded that Paul Bernier "was not in real or potential conflict of interest in relation to the mineral claims recorded in the name of his wife."

"There's no substance to the allegations," said Elise Dhaussy, spokesperson for the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA), which hired O'Donnell. "Mr. Bernier is not in breach of any applicable federal law or the Public Service Code."

Suspended with pay during the investigation, Paul Bernier has now been cleared to resume his duties as CEAA's vice-president of program delivery, effective April 13. However, he will not handle the Mackenzie Gas Project file again. That matter will be left to Steve Burgess, who has overseen Mackenzie pipeline affairs in Bernier's absence. Dhaussy said that decision was made for the sake of continuity.

In October 2003, the DCFN accused Bernier of violating federal policy because his wife, Maureen, holds mineral claims on and near the proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline route. Paul Bernier was involved in developing a regulatory co-operation plan for the pipeline.

O'Donnell's report further states that there is no foundation for alleging Paul Bernier was responsible for excluding the Deh Cho First Nations from the pipeline regulatory cooperation plan process.

Chris Reid, legal counsel for the DCFN, said he and Grand Chief Herb Norwegian -- both of whom were in Yellowknife Tuesday -- will not comment until they have read the entire report. Reid did express disappointment that the DCFN didn't receive a copy of the report prior to its public release.

Dhaussy said she knew nothing of a commitment to send an advance copy of the report to the DCFN.