Paul Bickford
Northern News Services

Snowdrift (Oct 03/05) - Neither of the two men claiming to be the legitimate chief of Lutsel K'e First Nation know what Premier Joe Handley is talking about.

At a Sept. 20 public meeting in Fort Smith, Handley said the band agreed - in a letter to government over the summer - to allow a power transmission line from Taltson River to cross Lutsel K'e territory. The line would bring power to the diamond mines from an expanded hydroelectric site.

Handley called it the "missing piece" which would allow the long-discussed Taltson expansion to proceed.

No one answered the telephone at the Lutsel K'e First Nation office, but when tracked down by News/North at his home, Albert Boucher said he was not aware of such a letter.

"To his knowledge, there was no letter sent by the Lutsel K'e Band to Mr. Handley," said Boucher's wife, Sarah, who acted as interpreter for the claimant to the chief's position.

News/North then checked again with Handley, who said the correspondence was not actually a letter, but a copy of a band council resolution.

"They have indicated to us that they can't be part of the Taltson project right now, but they don't object to a transmission line," the premier said, noting he passed the copy of the resolution along to the NWT Power Corporation.

When contacted for a second time, Boucher said the band sent no correspondence - not a letter or a band council resolution - to the GNWT about Taltson.

"Nobody knows about it," he said, adding he doesn't recall such a resolution being passed.

Boucher said Lutsel K'e has made no decision on whether to support or participate in the Taltson project.

Archie Catholique - the ousted chief who is in court fighting to get the job back - is also not aware of any correspondence.

And he has a piece of advice for Handley: Don't listen to the existing band council.

"This council is not the real government," Catholique said, adding it is a dysfunctional organization. "Premier Joe Handley has to be careful."

Catholique was ousted, along with his council, early this year.

Despite Catholique's caution, Handley said he has to deal with whoever is occupying the chief's chair.

The premier said, by the time the Taltson project is ready for construction, the dispute over the Lutsel K'e leadership should be settled.

Catholique thinks the First Nation should develop the hydro potential of several rivers in the Lutsel K'e area with Regional Power Ltd.

"I'm still supporting Regional Power," said the ousted chief, who is challenging his ouster in the Federal Court of Canada.

Boucher said the band's negotiations with Regional Power are off.

At the Fort Smith meeting, Handley said there is a very busy schedule for the next year to advance the proposed $300-million Taltson expansion.

"It seems we're getting all the pieces together now," he said. "I don't see any roadblocks right now."

The premier said $2 million has been approved to finance pre-environmental and pre-engineering studies, which are expected to be completed by spring.

Handley, who chairs a cabinet committee on energy issues, predicted an environmental assessment by next year. Construction would start in 2007 or 2008.

A three-party consortium has investigated producing more hydroelectricity on the Taltson River, east of Fort Smith, and selling it to the diesel-powered diamond mines.

The partners in the consortium are the Akaitcho Territory, the Metis Energy Corporation Ltd. and the NWT Energy Corporation, a subsidiary of the Northwest Territories Power Corporation.

They want to expand the existing power-generating facility at Twin Gorges to produce 58 megawatts of electricity, up from the current 18 megawatts.