Inuvik (Apr 01/05) - As two lawsuits filed against the federal government by the Dehcho First Nations (DFN) threaten to grind the pipeline review process to a halt, some are becoming concerned about the longterm effect this will have on the proposed Mackenzie Valley Pipeline.

Inuvik Gas production and distribution supervisor Garry Dahlseide conducts a routine inspection at the Ikhil natural gas processing facility.

"At some point, industry will make a decision. Everyday the cost goes up, the Alaska pipeline plans are moving ahead. I have to say it's worrying," said aboriginal pipeline group chair Fred Carmichael.

"We cannot afford any more delays or roadblocks."

The DFN launched its legal action in September 2004, maintaining that the federal government has denied the Deh Cho meaningful participation in the environmental review for the proposed pipeline.

Last week, a federal court judge ruled that Ottawa had to release all federal government documents related to the formation of the Joint Review Panel.

The seven-member panel will make its recommendations to the National Energy Board regarding the expected environmental and social impacts of the proposed mega-project.

What provoked the lawsuit was the Deh Cho being denied the opportunity to appoint two members to the joint review panel.

A little more than 40 per cent of the pipeline right-of-way runs through Deh Cho territory.

Spokesperson Hart Searle of Imperial Oil, which is the lead proponent of the pipeline, says the company is currently participating in the regulatory process, responding to supplemental requests from the National Energy Board and the Joint Review Panel.

"Would it be our desire that things move more expeditiously than they have? Yes, but we're working through the process," he said, noting the milestones that have been passed since the project's inception in 2000.

While Searle estimates gas will be running south from the Delta region by "the end of the decade," providing the project is approved, he did note that in order for the project to be economically feasible, it has to remain competitive.

"There's another (pipeline) project in Alaska underway and that presents some issues for us if we don't stay ahead of it," he said.

Not in a bubble

"We're not developing the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline in isolation. You can never undertake a project like this in a bubble."

If the Alaska pipeline does move ahead of the territories' project, Searle has doubts about the capacity of the North American distribution network - as it stands now - to justify a second pipeline.

A missed opportunity to build a pipeline in the territories is an outcome Carmichael would rather not contemplate.

"What do we have here right now in terms of an economic base? Oil and gas and government. We don't want to be dependent on government, we want to have financial independence," he said.

"If we throw it away, we'll have the social impact of less jobs and our people on welfare. As reasonable people we have to step back and ask what is best right now for our people."