[IPSM] Deh Cho suing Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board

[Macdonald Stainsby]

Deh Cho First Nation files suit

Last updated Mar 6 2006 11:03 AM MST
CBC News
The Deh Cho First Nation is taking the Mackenzie Valley Environmental 
Impact Review Board to court over the proposed pipeline project.

The Deh Cho filed the suit about access and benefit agreements against 
the board in the Northwest Territories Supreme Court.

The case deals with the board handled the 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 deal with the social and cultural impacts of 
the project.

However, the board later reversed its decision based on information it 
received from the Department of Indian Affairs.

The Deh Cho says it was unfair of the board to make a decision based on 
new information that it did not have access to or get a chance to 
respond to.

It's asking the court to quash the board's decision.

Meanwhile the Deh Cho has asked Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice to 
cancel 27 prospecting permits issued by the department last month.

The permits give prospectors the exclusive right to explore specific 
areas of the Deh Cho region.

Deh Cho leaders say the permits violate an agreement with the federal 
government, which promised not to issue any new permits unless the 
affected Deh Cho communities agreed to them.

http://www.cbc.ca/north/story/access-sahtu06032006.html
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Macdonald Stainsby
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