Fort Simpson (Dec 10/04) - Dehcho First Nations' (DFN) opposition to a proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline has far-reaching implications, according to Premier Joe Handley.

At a public meeting in Fort Simpson on Monday, Handley said he can attest that executives in bank boardrooms in Toronto are asking where the Deh Cho stands. DFN's court challenges against the federal government to halt the pipeline process scare investors, who could easily sink their money into more secure projects around the world, the premier remarked.

"We've got to work together. Otherwise we all lose," said Handley.

If the $8 billion Mackenzie Valley pipeline project winds up falling behind the proposed Alaska pipeline, the NWT will be on the sidelines for a long time, he warned.

"If we don't have a pipeline we've got 20 more years of almost poverty and frustration to look forward to," he said.

Yet, before the natural gas starts flowing south, the NWT must convince the federal government to change its "antiquated" finance formula, the premier advised. Currently Ottawa keeps 96 cents of every resource royalty dollar generated in the NWT.

"I told the Prime Minister we're going broke supporting resource development," Handley said.

Alluding to the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs' funding formula, Duncan Canvin, a Fort Simpson businessman and former village councillor, quipped that Fort Simpson knows all too well that funding formulas don't suit everybody's needs.

Several other issues arose at the public meeting:

Justice Minister Charles Dent said he continues to bring concerns over a Fort Simpson police staff cut to the attention of RCMP Chief Superintendent Everett Summerfield. Dent noted the RCMP makes its own independent staffing decisions. Like Fort Simpson residents, Dent said he will be keeping a close eye on crime statistics and will pressure the RCMP to bolster staff accordingly.

Despite the impending closure of the Inuvik and Hay River court facilities, Dent and Handley insisted that the GNWT is not attempting to centralize services in Yellowknife. Dent pointed out that the GNWT decided to put the territorial pipeline readiness office in Hay River, not Yellowknife. The $2.5 million worth of Justice cuts could be put into daycare or full-time kindergarten initiatives that will hopefully help prevent people from winding up in jails or courts, Dent suggested.

Andrew Gaule, president of the Fort Simpson Chamber of Commerce, called upon the GNWT to prop up its economic development staff in Fort Simpson. Associated vacancies in the RWED office should be filled quickly with experienced candidates, Gaule said. He also implored the territorial government to give more financial support to tourism and chambers of commerce, which he said promote the NWT in the south and thereby offer "tremendous value for money."