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Pipeline takes centre stage

Guy Quenneville
Northern News Services
Published Monday, June 16, 2008

INUVIK - The uncertainty facing many businesses as the $16.2 billion Mackenzie Gas Project is plagued by continued delays was foremost on the minds of attendees of the 8th Annual Inuvik Petroleum Show, held June 11 and 12.

NNSL Photo/Graphic

Fred Carmichael, chair of the Aboriginal Pipeline Group, got discussion surrounding the Mackenzie Gas Project started right away at the 8th Annual Inuvik Petroleum Show with an opening ceremony speech in which he blasted the Joint Review Panel for its delays. Carmichael called on industry players to put public pressure on the JRP for a resolution to its deliberations on the fate of the pipeline. - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo

Moderator Anne Crossman set the tone for the event during opening ceremonies, saying,

"The theme of this year's show is the Mackenzie Gas Project - oh, God..., she said."

Fred Charmichael, chair of the Aboriginal Pipeline Group, called on all attendees to pressure the Joint Review Panel - the regulatory body charged with ensuring the long-gestating project does not have a negative environmental impact - to make its ruling on the project this year, not next year, as the JRP recently said it would do.

"People have had enough and they want to get this project moving again," said a visibly stirred Carmichael, who received a standing ovation at the close of his speech.

"We Northerners need this project to provide opportunities and a future for our people. We need to have the JRP realize that because of its delays, people are on the verge of losing their businesses, their homes and their jobs."

Later, Carmichael was unsparing in his assessment of the effects the delays are having on Northern businesses, especially in Inuvik.

"You have to have industry and some development in order to sustain businesses, and what have we got here? Nothing, absolutely nothing, other than government projects and highways. And there are many businesses here that were put in place in preparation for the pipeline."

One of those businesses, helicopter company Highland North, a return exhibitor at the petroleum show, has diversified its pool of clients while waiting for the pipeline to happen.

"Primarily we've been doing a lot of work for the government, local and federal, environmental surveys, things like flying people to do bear darting - tagging bears to study their movements," said Simon Laight, sales and marketing representative for Highland.

"We're still looking forward to (the pipeline) happening. But whether it happens or not, it's not going to affect our current business up here."

The same cannot be said for Bertram Drilling, a family-run seismic drilling company based in Carbon, Alta., which also attended the show.

Kevin Logan, a drill supervisor with the company, said Bertram used to be very active up North in the '70s, '80s and '90s, but exploration work has slowed down without a pipeline.

"If you can't get your product out on the market, why are you going to spend a bunch of money on something that you can't sell in the foreseeable future, when you can go elsewhere in the world, invest your money and get returns immediately?" said Logan.

"Until they get a pipeline going, it's going to be pretty slow for drilling and exploration for us (in the NWT)."

One new attendee, Nunavut Insurance Brokers (NIB), said it sees a lot of promise in the NWT despite uncertainty surrounding the pipeline.

Keith Jordan, chief operator officer for NIB, said the company may open an Inuvik branch in the near future, with a staff of one person.

"We see a lot of promise in the North," said Jordan.

"There's mining, oil and gas, tourism. It's an incredible place up here and very few Canadians get the chance to visit it. And there's going to be more opportunities as commodity prices continue to climb."

The petroleum show attracted 669 attendees in all, including 358 delegates, 278 of them from the NWT and more than 150 from Calgary alone, with 113 booths taking up two large rooms in the Midnight Sun Recreation Centre, according to Marnie Hilash, an administrator for the event.

Attendance for previous years was reported at more than 700 attendees.

Ed Guay, manager of Tonimoe's in the Mackenzie Hotel, said his restaurant was busy but not overwhelmed.

"I was looking over numbers from previous years, because I had to plan for staffing, and so far, halfway through the week, we're on pace for, if not the same, a little bit better," said Guay.

Across the hall at Shivers Lounge, waitress Megan Hames, who arrived in Inuvik only eight days before, said she was warned it would be one of the busiest weeks for the town.

"Now's really not a good time," she said breathlessly during lunch, moments after being told by her boss she had eight new tables to serve.

The petroleum show attracted big name guests like comedian Rick Mercer and former Alberta premier Ralph Klein. More notable was who didn't show up.

Neil McCrank, the federal appointee overseeing an as-yet-unreleased report on how to overhaul the NWT regulatory system, which was due in April, was a no-show for a scheduled talk on Wednesday.

Many attendees were hoping McCrank would use the show as a forum for releasing his much anticipated findings, among them Derek Lindsay, mayor of Inuvik.

"With the delays now with the JRP issuing their report, I would have liked to see what he would have recommended in order to speed that process up," said Lindsay.

Also curiously absent: previous exhibitor BP Exploration, which surprised many attendees of the show by successfully bidding $1.8 billion - a record - for the rights to explore for oil and gas on a parcel of land in the Beaufort Sea.

"The rumour is BP was as surprised as everybody else that it won," said Crossman.