Yellowknife (May 09/05) - Aboriginal leaders across the Northwest Territories are rejecting Imperial Oil's charge that their demands for facts and money are excessive and threaten the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline.

Gwich'in negotiator Richard Nerysoo accused Imperial spokesmen of "misleading the public and totally misrepresented facts."

Imperial Oil complained that it has been overwhelmed by 1,200 requests for information and directed its staff to focus on providing answers while it shut down engineering work on the $7 billion project.

Company spokesmen said that First Nations' compensation demands in access and benefits negotiations amount to hundreds of millions of dollars and are beyond the responsibility of the pipeline proponents.

"They are making public statements to create an impression that there is a bunch of greedy people in the Northwest Territories," said Nerysoo, who declined to place a dollar value on Gwich'in demands.

"We can't let the process be dictated by Imperial or Trans-Canada. Questions must be asked. We're going to live with the consequences - not the presidents of Imperial or Trans-Canada Pipelines. They will never live in the Northwest Territories."

Nerysoo's words were echoed by leaders in the Deh Cho and at a public forum in Yellowknife, where pipeline opponents staged a rally as federal and territorial officials met in Edmonton to search for a way around the impasse.

Herb Norwegian, grand chief of the Dehcho First Nations, said his organization hasn't asked Imperial Oil for hospitals or schools or "putting gravel on the roads or building outhouses for people."

In Wrigley, Chief David Moses said the Pehdzeh Ki First Nation is considering using funding from pipeline impact benefits agreements and access fees to hire medical staff.

"I don't think we want to build a new health centre. We've already got one," Moses said.

A swimming pool, on the other hand, is a facility that the Pehdzeh Ki First Nation would like to construct. "We're hoping to negotiate with the (pipeline) proponents and get something out of it, and it will be used in these areas," he said.

Although a negotiations model hasn't been selected, Moses said he's expecting a lump sum payment from the oil and gas companies up front and long-term compensation through a land lease along the pipeline route.

At the Alternatives North-sponsored forum in Yellowknife, Dene national chief Noeline Villebrun told about 75 people that "Imperial has an attitude and they need an attitude adjustment."

Villebrun said she was in Norman Wells when the oil pipeline was built 20 years ago and saw Dene cabins bulldozed to make way for the project.

"They come in and take what they want at the expense of the Dene people. There needs to be consultation."

Stephen Kakfwi, a strong supporter of the project when he was premier, told the forum that he "would not lose any sleep if there is no pipeline."

"The real issue is control by people of the North over our resources," said Kakfwi, who is a negotiator for Fort Good Hope. "We can't give up control," he said.

Keyna Norwegian, chief of Liidlii Kue First Nation and negotiator for the Deh Gah Alliance Society, and Nerysoo both rejected Imperial's claims that they had asked the company to build hospitals and schools as part of the benefits package.

Nerysoo said he had proposed that camp buildings be left behind for possible use in communities where there is a housing shortage.

Fred Carmichael, chair of the Aboriginal Pipeline Group, expressed disappointment with both sides and suggested bringing in a mediation team.

"We don't expect oil companies to bail us out of the social situation we're in, but government and industry have to discuss how to handle the social agenda," Carmichael said.

Nerysoo said the Gwich'in suggested a year ago that Ottawa and the territorial government should be at the table to deal with socio-economic issues, "but Imperial rejected that idea."

"We knew these issues would be significant. We're not saying they have to take the lead, but Imperial has to play a role in the socio-economic issues raised by development."