Deh Cho take Pipeline Review Board to court over reversal

Fri, 10 Mar 2006 17:15:45 +0000

The Deh Cho First Nation is taking the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board to court over the proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline, CBC North reports.

The case has been brought to the Northwest Territories Supreme Court because of the way the board handled agreements related to the right-of-way for the proposed $7 billion Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline.

The board initially said Imperial Oil had to enter into agreements with five Deh Cho communities to address the social and cultural impacts of the pipeline. The board later reversed this decision.

The Deh Cho First Nation is asking the court to cancel the reversal since it was based on Department of Indian Affairs information,to which they had neither access nor a chance to respond.

The head of Imperial's Mackenzie Valley Gas Project recently told the NWT chiefs that the proposed pipeline was well on its way to becoming a reality.

Chief Kenya Norwegian of the Deh Cho isn't so sure. The company, she said, has failed to reach an agreement with the Deh Cho First Nation. "My concern is you are moving forward and not respecting us as the Dene people of the land," Norwegian said, as reported by CBC North.

Hillary Bain Lindsay

The Dominion - Mackenzie Valley

Deh Cho take Pipeline Review Board to court over reversal