First Nation group seeks gas line role
By DIANA CAMPBELL, Staff Writer
Leaders of a Whitehorse-based Native group said Tuesday they will support an Alaska/Canada natural gas pipeline as long as their group has a say in business and government decision-making.
Kwanlin Dun First Nation leaders say they will delay the project in Canadian courts if they are ignored.
The Yukon Territory First Nation owns about 90 miles of the 3,600-mile southern route of the proposed Alaska/Canada natural gas pipeline.
"Our people have been left out of decisions that have affected us deeply, such as the Klondike Gold Rush and the Alaska Highway," said Rick O'Brien, chief of the Kwanlin Dun.
Canadian First Nations are the equivalent of Alaska Native and Native American tribes. About six First Nations, including the Kwanlin Dun, own land along the Alaska Highway on which a proposed gas pipeline could be built.
BP, Exxon Mobil and Phillips Alaska, the three major producers of North Slope gas, are also considering an "over-the-top" route that would include an undersea pipeline to the MacKenzie River Valley in Canada's Northwest Territories.
The Kwanlin Dun have been left out of pipeline discussions, said Judy Gingell, a former commissioner of the Yukon who is now the president and CEO of Kwanlin Development Corp.
"We have been largely kept in the dark by the industry and other governments," Gingell said.
Canadian courts are clear in saying that First Nations should be included in the planning of projects that would affect lands and people, O'Brien said. Also, the courts authorize giving First Nations money to bear the cost of participation, he said.
"The bottom line is we support a natural gas project and only if real issues are addressed," he said.
The Kwanlin Dun want at least $38 million in U.S. dollars from the Canadian government so the group can participate in discussions, hire consultants and conduct research, O'Brien said.
The group also wants the Canadian government to immediately choose a unified Canadian permit process, said Trevor Harding, Kwanlin Dun pipeline consultant.
The Kwanlin Dun want to have access to the natural gas in Whitehorse and form power generation partnerships, Harding said. They also want to discuss with the Canadian governments and the producers how to mitigate social impacts brought by large groups of pipeline workers.
"The influx of workers will put hunting pressure on the game," he said. "There is a potential for a lot of alcohol and drug use. Traditionally these people live a pretty fast life."
The Canadian government will also have to deal with increased demands on its education and health-care system, he said.
BP spokesman Ronnie Chappell said the company has spoken with the group and will continue to do so. "Our goal is to have a project that is supported by Native groups, in Alaska and Canada, and by all the governments involved."
Chappell said that the pipeline project, with a $15 billion to $20 billion price tag, has not been approved by company investors.
"We do not have an economic project yet," he said. "Our work focus is shifting now to the task of developing a rational framework in which permitting can occur."
BP wants a clear state fiscal policy, he said. In the U.S. Congress, legislation is moving that would allow the producers a tax credit should gas prices fall below $1.25 per million British thermal units.
Phillips Alaska spokeswoman Dawn Patience had no comment about the Kwanlin Dun demands.
The First Nation is settling land claims, expected to be complete by March 31.
The Kwanlin Dun want to meet with Gov. Tony Knowles to offer their help in getting the pipeline built, Harding said.
Bob King, Knowles' spokesman, said he hasn't heard from the Kwanlin Dun but that the Kaska, a Yukon Territory/British Columbia First Nation, have requested a meeting with Knowles. The governor, who is in Germany on an Alaska trade mission, hasn't agreed to meet with them, King said. It is unclear what role Alaska would have with the First Nations.
"At this point nothing has been decided," he said.