[Bloquez l'empire!] Candian Troops at Fort Simpson not Welcome

[mary foster]

 For immediate release
> TROOPS AT FORT SIMPSON WILL NOT BE WELCOMED
> 
> 
> 
> FORT SIMPSON, NT - April 13 -- When the Canadian army lands here
> Monday for an 11-day mission to "secure" the town's airport from
> terrorists, it will not be welcomed by the Dehcho First Nations (DFN)
> whose territory surrounding the federal airport land is under their
> jurisdiction, not Canada's.
> 
> "Operation Narwhal may be just a mock exercise to the Canadian
> forces, but we see it as interference with our land and rights.
> Indeed, I think it could be seen as an exercise of intimidation by
> Canada on the Dehcho," Grand Chief Herb Norwegian said Friday.
> 
> "Canada has reneged on a promise to implement our Land Use Plan, and
> will not negotiate with us in good faith, but they seem to think Fort
> Simpson is a strategic hub for the Mackenzie Gas Pipeline. We have
> already informed Canada that the pipeline will not cross our land
> until we have our Land Use Plan approved."
> 
> Operation Narwhal will station 40 military personnel at the airport
> from April 16-27 as part of what it calls "a sovereignty operation
> for Canadian forces." Another 240 troops will be stationed for the
> same period at Norman Wells. The military says it considers these two
> sites as 'possible terrorist sites' because of their strategic
> location on the pipeline route.
> 
> In addition to "securing" the airport from potential terrorists,
> Joint Task Force North will be patrolling the area and guarding the
> airport, a military spokesperson confirmed.
> 
> Norwegian says he was not consulted.
> 
> The DFN is preparing to resume land claims negotiations with the
> Federal government later this month. The key issue before negotiators
> is the approval and implementation of the Dehcho Land Use Plan which
> was developed jointly by the DFN and Canada over the past five years.
> 
> "Implementing the land use plan is the key to unlocking the potential
> of our territory and securing a sustainable future for our children
> and all Canadians," Norwegian said. "Canada has rejected this Plan,
> but without it there can be no pipeline across our territory," he added.
> 
> Norwegian said the mock terrorist exercise shows gratuitous ignorance
> of the current situation in the Dehcho and that he would not be
> surprised "if some of our people greet the Canadian troops with less
> than a warm welcome. We have our own sovereignty over this land and
> do not intend to be intimidated by soldiers of a government using the
> threat of terrorism as an excuse to show their flag on our land."
> 
> For further information, please contact Herb Norwegian
> Government of Denendeh
> DEHCHO FIRST NATIONS BOX 89, FORT SIMPSON, N.W.T. X0E 0N0 TEL: (867)
> 695-2355/2610 FAX: (867) 695-2038
> e-mail: dcfn at dehchofirstnations.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This is nothing but an intimidation against the people who think the
> plans being hatched by the Canadian and American governments are
> absolutely insane. We must not let the "War on Terror" be brought to
> the north!
> 
> Please alert people about this and take appropriate measures.
> 
> --
> 
> Terror exercise to be held at NWT oil facility
> 
> http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070402/
> terror_exer...
> Updated Mon. Apr. 2 2007 6:43 PM ET
> 
> Canadian Press
> 
> EDMONTON --
> 
> 
> More than 200 military personnel will mass in the Northwest
> Territories later this month to practise their response to a
> simulated attack on major oil facilities by a fictional Edmonton-
> based al Qaeda sleeper cell, said Lt.-Col. Kevin Tyler of the
> Yellowknife-based Joint Task Force North.
> 
> The task force is the branch of the Canadian Forces charged with
> defending the Arctic.
> 
> The fake scenario involves the RCMP calling in the military for help
> after an attack on oil-pumping and pipeline facilities at Norman
> Wells by an "al Qaeda-type'' terrorist group, said Tyler.
> 
> "This is a small cell of two (terrorists) in Edmonton who have
> travelled up to the N.W.T. who have received orders to mount an
> attack. They have tried to plant some small explosive devices to try
> and disrupt the flow of oil.''
> 
> Imperial Oil (TSX:IMO) owns extensive oilfields near the town,
> located west of Great Bear Lake along the Mackenzie River.
> 
> The field is served by an 870-kilometre pipeline linked to the
> Rainbow Pipeline system at Zama, Alta. That pipeline, owned by
> Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB), is designed to carry up to 30,000 barrels of
> oil a day.
> 
> The April 16-27 exercise, dubbed Operation Narwhal, will involve 150
> primary reservists from the Maritimes operating in both Norman Wells
> and Fort Simpson, N.W.T., to the south. Aurora surveillance aircraft,
> Griffon helicopters and Twin Otter airplanes based in Yellowknife
> will also be brought in, involving 140 support staff and air crew.
> 
> RCMP officers and emergency preparedness officials will also take
> part, as will representatives from Imperial and Enbridge.
> 
> "The idea is (prevention), and if there is an attack, the idea is to
> mitigate,'' said Tyler.
> 
> Two soldiers will be designated as terrorists and will play out a
> script written by the exercise's management.
> 
> As part of the practice, infantry soldiers will patrol critical
> pieces of infrastructure such as pumping stations to try to prevent
> an attack. Soldiers will be armed, but will not be carrying live
> ammunition.
> 
> "The army will be out near the infrastructure, looking for terrorists
> and protecting the pipeline repair group,'' Tyler said.
> 
> Imperial Oil spokesman Pius Rolheiser said the exercise is not
> expected to disrupt the company's operations.
> 
> "We see this as an opportunity to test our own security systems,'' he
> said.
> 
> "We aren't actually going to be deploying people. It's primarily to
> test our communications links with outside agencies.''
> 
> RCMP officers will be available mostly to consult with military
> officials, said Sgt. Larry O'Brien in Yellowknife.
> 
> "We have people who are overseeing certain aspects of it, to say,
> `This is what we would do in this case.'''
> 
> Operation Narwhal is the result of years of planning by the Arctic
> Security Working Group that started in 2004, said Tyler.
> 
> It's the latest in a series of such emergency simulations. Three
> years ago, the military mounted an exercise in the waters off
> Pangnirtung, a Nunavut community on southeast Baffin Island, premised
> on a foreign country attempting to retrieve a satellite that had
> fallen from orbit into the waters of the Davis Strait.
> 
> "We have to do these exercises,'' said Tyler. "The lessons will be
> applicable anywhere in Canada.''