A Citizen’s Guide

Here’s the latest news from Canada, via the CBC, regarding the Mackenzie Valley pipeline, the natural gas project in northwestern Canada that the Murkowski administration would like to see built before the Alaska project (a piece of info not mentioned in the story is that Exxon Mobil is the majority shareholder of Imperial Oil):

Imperial Oil abruptly cancelled negotiations for access and benefits agreements with the Dehgah Alliance last week.

A spokesman for Imperial says the company is unsure which communities the Dehgah Alliance represents.

The Dehgah Alliance Society was formed by Dehcho communities to negotiate access and benefits agreements with gas producers, but the Pehdzi Keh First Nation in Wrigley recently pulled out of the group. That leaves Fort Simpson, Jean Marie River and Kakisa as members.

The cancellation comes in the midst of a spat between Imperial Oil and the Alliance about whether the access and benefits agreements should be made public. That would allow aboriginal groups to compare what Imperial Oil is offering them.

The Dehgah Alliance wants the panel reviewing the proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline to accept the draft agreements and post them on their public registry.

The full story, from the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., is available here.