DEH CHO - Dehcho First Nations is preparing a legal challenge in response to the federal government's decision to open an area of land to possible underground resource development.

Grand Chief Samuel Gargan: Canada silent on reason for decision. - NNSL file photo

Dehcho First Nations (DFN) was informed on Oct. 29 the federal government would not be renewing sub-surface protection for the area known as Edehzhie. The area, which encompasses the Horn Plateau, Mills Lake and Willowlake River, has both cultural and spiritual significance to the Deh Cho along with being a unique ecosystem.

DFN has been working since 1999 to receive permanent protection for Edehzhie. The 25,230-square-kilometre region has had both surface and sub-surface protection as part of an interim land withdrawl since 2002.

The withdrawl, which was renewed in 2007, expired on Oct. 31. All of the land under the agreement has received renewed protection for one more year except for Edehzhie, which had its sub-surface protection removed, said DFN Grand Chief Samuel Gargan..

"We don't have any correspondence, no reason," Gargan said.

During a conference call on Oct. 29 the Dehcho leadership agreed the federal government's decision warranted a legal challenge. A further conference call has been scheduled for Nov. 8 so the leadership can discuss, with legal council, the best way to proceed without interfering with the Dehcho Process which is currently under negotiation, Gargan said.

In press releases DFN stated it will not allow any prospecting or exploration in Edehzhie and will remove any prospecting stakes. The area has known mineral and hydrocarbon deposits.

By removing Edehzhie's sub-surface protection the federal government has made a mockery of the Protected Areas Strategy, said Gargan.

DFN has been using the NWT Protected Areas Strategy process to receive a National Wildlife Area designation for Edehzhie. Following a resolution passed at its annual assembly in June DFN sent a letter to Jim Prentice, the federal minister of the environment, to grant the designation and provide both surface and sub-surface rights. Gargan said DFN didn't receive any response to the letter.

Although the Protected Areas Strategy process was almost completed Gargan said the leadership will have to revisit whether or not they will proceed with the designation.

"There's no sense in having a reserve, a protected area, a park, anything if there's no commitment to protect the bottom," he said.

The government's decision to remove the interim protection has also raised questions among conservation groups.

"I'm not sure what you accomplish by protecting what's happening on top while leaving the area entirely exposed to mineral exploration and mining developments. It's just inconsistent with the vision that's been by advanced by the Deh Cho since the inception of the Edehzie proposal," said Larry Innes the executive director of the Canadian Boreal Initiative.

Based in Ottawa the organization brings together different groups to conserve boreal forest.

The irony of Canada's decision is that it threatens more than 10 years of work when Edehzhie is on the brink of receiving a National Wildlife Area designation, Innes said. Canada could have waited until the process concluded and then worked with DFN through the Dehcho Process to potentially reopen the areas outside of the final boundary to mineral development, he said.

"Clearly we think the government needs to reconsider this decision which is frankly just bad policy. It's bad planning and it's bad policy," Innes said.

According to information provided by the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Edehzhie's sub-surface protection wasn't renewed because the federal government has determined it's appropriate to allow for a greater balance between conservation and development opportunities in the Deh Cho region.

Through Edehzhie and the Dehcho Process interim land withdrawls more than 40 per cent of the region's sub-surface has been off limits to exploration since 2003.

The department has taken the view that resource development, "is not necessarily inconsistent with protecting the conservation values in Edehzhie," according to an e-mail.

Parties with an interest in non-renewable resources in the proposed protected area are expected to take into account the future National Wildlife Area designation.

Any plans for exploration or development would have to include measures to mitigate environmental impacts, according to the department.

The department also pointed out that a staked claim is not an active mine. Less than one per cent of all claims staked in the NWT ever become mines.

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