Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (May 28/04) - Deh Cho politician Dennis Nelner, 39, fired as the regional petroleum advisor in April, is going public with accusations of unfair treatment at the hands of his employer, the territorial government.

Dennis Nelner feels he was unfairly fired as the territorial government's regional petroleum advisor for the Deh Cho. - Derek Neary/NNSL photo

After being hired by the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development (RWED) in 2002, Nelner was elected to Fort Simpson Village council and the Liidlii Kue First Nation council. He also served on the Deh Cho First Nations' pipeline working group. Each body had its own pipeline agenda.

Holding all of these positions meant Nelner was arguably more involved in a proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline than anyone else in the region. It also meant he was placed in potential conflicts of interest, depending upon which organization he was speaking for at any given time.

"I can walk and chew bubble gum at the same time. There's a lot of issues I know how to articulate and (I know when) to keep my mouth quiet in situations where there's a conflict," Nelner said of his multiple roles. "I never thought of it being a conflict, I thought of it being a benefit."

Yet, the territorial government found the way he juggled his duties went against their policies. The GNWT suspended Nelner after he openly criticized the government's position on North American Tungsten's water licence at a public hearing. According to internal RWED correspondence, he had violated the GNWT's code of conduct for employees. Nelner argued that while speaking at the hearings, he had identified himself as a public citizen, not a government employee.

He was suspended a second time for criticizing Imperial Oil in the media.

Again in internal correspondence, a government official stated that part of his job was to foster good relations with oil and gas companies, not condemn them. Nelner responded that he was speaking as an LKFN councillor, and he was referred to as such in the newspaper article.

Nelner also received several reprimands regarding the tone of his correspondence and his use of special leave and civic leave. He insisted he was entitled to the civic leave as he hadn't even used his allotted 15 days. In addition, he asserted that the government should freely provide civic leave as the LKFN and DCFN are "cash strapped."

In February, RWED deputy minister Peter Vician ordered Nelner to cease all outside activities that clashed with his job. That included village council, band council and the DCFN's pipeline working group. "Your behaviour up till now has not given me any indication that you are able to separate your outside activities from the work you agreed to perform for this government," Vician wrote.

Nelner subsequently hired a lawyer and received a letter of support from the band council. LKFN Chief Keyna Norwegian urged Vician to resolve Nelner's conflicts rather than demand he remove himself from band council.

But the government held to its position. When Nelner failed to comply with the department's directive, he was handed his notice of dismissal. Nelner told the Drum he was not prepared to step down from council because, "there's too much demand for people in community government roles, especially dealing with the pipeline."

Damien Healy, public affairs officer for RWED in Yellowknife, said the government does not discuss personnel matters publicly.

"We have a lot of people that do serve on councils and municipal boards," Healy said.

Barb Wyness, of the Union of Northern Workers, said Nelner's matter is being grieved so it is therefore considered confidential. However, she did add that the case is not limited to whether Nelner should have been allowed to continue as a band councillor.

"It's not simply a black and white (issue)," Wyness said. "There are a couple of other things going on here."

It is not only the territorial government that has been upset with Nelner.

At a village council meeting in March, he was scolded by Fort Simpson Mayor Raymond Michaud and a couple of councillors for correspondence he sent to Imperial Oil making reference to village affairs. Using the government e-mail system, Nelner wrote a message to an Imperial employee regarding procurement policy workshops that would involve the village. He had no authorization from council to do so.

Nelner, as deputy mayor, defended his actions at the council table by contending that there is a lot of "crossover" on pipeline issues among levels of government. He asked council if the content of his note wasn't valid.

The councillors refused to debate the merit of his memo. Instead, they wrote their own letter to RWED to clarify Nelner's "misleading correspondence regarding village opinion."

Although he maintains his stance on that question, Nelner admitted that he has made some mistakes along the way.

"I'm not saying I'm perfect... I'm a young politician," he said. "But I've been doing a lot of work for this region."

Nelner said he considers himself a principled individual who has put the community's needs first. There should have been a way to find a solution to the predicament rather than the government firing him, he suggested. "I shouldn't have been perceived as a pariah to the department, I should have been perceived as one of their most valuable assets," he said.