Dene/Metis threaten suits on pulp mills

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The Dene and Metis of the Northwest Territories are threatening legal action against the Alberta government if environment concerns with regards to the proposed pulp mills are not properly addressed.

"If necessary we will take the Alberta government to court on grounds that it's polluting the waters quality and lifestyle," said Metis president Gary Bohnet.

According to a resolution that was voted on unanimously by there Dene and Metis leaders in Yellowknife, the hearings should take place at least two months after distribution of intervener funding.

The deadline for intervener funding was Oct. 16 and the first scheduled meeting is to take place in Fort McMurray on Oct. 30 and 31.

"How do they really expect people to adequately address our concerns in that short of a time," said Bohnet.

Dene and Metis leaders are calling for hearings in each of the five Native regions of the Western Arctic that share the same watershed.

The Alberta Federation of Labor (AFL) objected to he mandate of the Alberta Pacific Environmental Impact Assessment Review Board in a message sent to Alberta Environment Minister Ralph Klein.

"This development is going to affect everyone in Alberta (and the N.W.T.), not simply people in the vicinity and we insist that the public hearings also be conducted in Edmonton and Calgary," said AFL president Don Aitken.

Athabasca MLA Mike Cardinal is objecting to the AFL's demand to have hearings in Alberta's largest cities.

"This study is for the affects of the proposed mill on the local areas and not the entire province," he said.

The chairman of the review board, Gerry DeSorcey, said the selection of the hearing sites were based on practicality with reference to locations within the project area.

"We have had many requests but in terms of time and money we felt the locations chosen were practical," said DeSorcey.

A submissions will be dealt with and the review board will request additional time to address the requests, he said.

Unhappy with the amount of time the review is taking Cardinal plans to meet with the review board's chairman.

"Hearings can be held faster than what the panel is doing," said Cardinal, expressing his concern that the construction of the proposed pulp mill will be delayed too long.

the review board is studying the potential environmental impact of the proposed $1.3 billion pulp mill slated to be built near Athabasca.

"With today's technology, I am confident that we can build a mill and still maintain a safe environment," said Cardinal who backs the mill plan.

The review board's decision to hold hearings in 10 communities rather than the five originally committed is a direct result of public input received at a series of meetings held in Sept. in northern Alberta and the N.W.T.

Concerned members of northern Native settlements demanded to be included in the hearings that were held in Fort Smith, N.W.T. in September.

Fort Chipewyan Cree band Chief Mathew Lepine said he is concerned with the affects of downstream pollution from the proposed pulp mill.

He claims that Lake Athabasca could become a settling pond for the mill's wastes.

George Morin, president of the Metis association in Hay River, is concerned with the affects the proposed mill will have on the fishing industry in his area. He would like to see a fisherman on the review board.

DeSorcy said meetings will he held in the northern communities for Native people involved in trapping and farming. He encourages the members of the public, regardless of place of residence, to express their views concerning the mill's

environmental impacts.

Written submissions will be accepted until the close of hearings and will be treated with equal consideration, DeSorcy said.

Hearings will be held in the following Alberta communities: Prosperity, Athabasca, Lac La Biche, Fort McMurray, Beaver Lake, Fort Chipewyan, Janvier and Wabasca/Desmarais as well as Fort Smith and Fort Resolution of the NWT.

Anyone wishing to make a resentation at one of the public hearings is asked to obtain detailed information on how to make a submission. The board is also encouraging the public to register in advance.