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6TuesdayOctober222013WATERPROOF-WINDPROOF100KIDPROOF12-PIECESUITSJACKETSANDPANTSFROMSIZES2TO18WWW.CHOKODESIGN.COMHOURSOFPLAYINTHESNOWWITHOUTBEINGCOLDORGETTINGWETAVAILABLEATKaesersStoresLtd.76-80BreynatStreetFortSmithNT867872-2345FortMcKaypullsoutofjointoilsandsmonitoringByMEAGANWOHLBERGCitingafrustratingandfutileprocessofattempt-ingtohaveitsconcernsmettheFortMcKayFirstNationwithdrewfromtheCanada-AlbertaJointOilSandsMoni-toringJOSMprogramear-lierthismonth.Thersttoleavethepro-cesstheFirstNationsdirectorofsustainabilityAlvaroPintotoldfederalandprovincialof-cialsthatFortMcKaywouldbepullingoutafterayearofat-temptingtohaveitsowntermsofreferenceonhowtoef-fectivelyengageFortMcKayandotherAboriginalgroupsintheJOSMprogramincor-poratedintothenewmonitor-ingprogram.TheFirstNationhadtriedtodevelopameaningfulpro-cesswhichwasthenignoredandsupersededbyaprocessdevelopedbyAlbertaandCanadaPintowrote.Complaintsaboutthepro-cessbeganearlyforFortMcKayaftertheywereex-plicitlydenieddirectpartic-ipationintheearlyscopingphaseoftheJOSMprogramaccordingtotheletter.OfkeyconcernwasCan-adaandAlbertasdecisiontorelegateFirstNationsandMtisconcernstoaseparatesub-tablewithothermem-bersoftheAthabascaTribalCouncilATC.WehaverepeatedlystatedthattheintegrationofTEKtraditionalenvironmentalknowledgeneedstobedoneinconnectionwithWesternsciencemonitoringandnotsegregatedintoanadd-onprocessPintosaidadd-ingthatFortMcKayscon-cernsextendedbeyondTEKintotheareasofscienceandgovernance.MonthlymeetingsoftheATCsub-tablewhosear-rangedgoalwastocreateacoordinatedapproachtoad-dressingenvironmentalsub-jectsofinterestwerefrus-tratedduetotheevolvinganduncoordinateddevelop-mentofJOSMbyAlbertaandCanadaPintosaidwhichwasnotcommunicatedtothestakeholders.ThoughPintosaidtheFirstNationwastoldbyAlber-tasCEOofEnvironmentalMonitoringinJulythatitstermsofreference-meanttoaddressconcernsaroundmeaningfulengagementwithAboriginalgroupstheman-agementofenvironmentalmonitoringdataandconnec-tionsbetweentheregulatoryandenvironmentalarmsofgovernment-wereacceptedinfullamonthlatertheyweretoldhispositionhadchanged.TheFirstNationhasyettoreceiveaformalresponseoutliningthereasonsfortherejectionofitstermsofrefer-ence.Whenafollowingmeet-ingoftheATCsub-tablewithAlbertaandCanadawasnotwellattendedbygovernmentofcialsPintosaidFirstNa-tionswalkedout.Thesedevelopmentshaveseriouslyunderminedourcon-dencethatJOSMwasbeingdevelopedinamannerre-sponsivetoallstakeholdershesaid.Whilewedontex-pectthatallofourproposalsaremetwithoutdiscussionwedoexpecttimelydiscus-sionandreasonabledialogbetweenparties.AlbertaEnvironmentandSustainableResourcesDevel-opmentESRDspokesper-sonJasonMaloneytoldTheJournalthedelayinapprovingFortMcKaystermsofrefer-encehadtodowithESRDsdesiretoconsiderthetermsofreferencesuppliedbyallveATCnationsincasethereweresimilaritemsthatcouldbelookedatthesametime.HesaidESRDcontinuestosupportparticipationofallAboriginalcommunitiesintheJOSMimplementationplan.TheinputofallFirstNa-tionsincludingFortMcKayisimportantintheresponsibledevelopmentandmonitoringofouroilsandsMaloneysaidinanemail.AlbertaandCanadaremaininterestedintalkingtoFortMcKayabouttheirconcernsandtheirtermsofreferenceandencouragethemtorejoinusattheJointOilSandsMonitoringtable.Hesaidthatthesub-tablestructurewascreatedforFirstNationsinordertoincreasetheeffectivenessofdiscus-sionsnottosegregateAb-originalgroupsfromotherpartsoftheprocess.Havingeverysinglepartyaroundonetablecouldresultinunfocuseddiscussionslessfocusonpriorityissuesandschedulingproblemstogeteveryonethere.Thesub-tableapproachleveragesexistingpracticeshesaid.Thesub-tableapproachisusedoutofrespectforAborig-inalgovernmentsasitsetsoutthatchiefandministerendorseandsetthehighleveldirectionforwork.Recommendationsfromthesesub-tablesarepartofthedecision-makingpro-cessasitisinthiscasefortheJOSMinitiative.PintonotedthattheFirstNationwouldbeinterestedinrejoininginthefutureifchangesintherelationshipandprocessaremadetore-ectconcernsoutlinedinthetermsofreference.FortMcKayFirstNationbecamethersttopulloutofthefederal-provincialJointOilSandsMonitoringprogramearlierthismonthclaimingitsrequestshavebeenignored.PhotoFrancoisPauletteMiningslowdownhurtsNortherneconomiesNWTtocomeoutwithweakestregionaleconomyinCanada2013ByMEAGANWOHLBERGLowercommoditypricesformineralswillholdbackthepreviouslyrobusteconomicgrowthinCanadasNorthin2013butstrongergrowthisexpectednextyearaccordingtoanewreportbytheConfer-enceBoardofCanadareleasedlastWednesday.TheautumnTerritorialOutlookreportreleasedatCanadasNorthSummitinWhitehorseforecaststhatgrossdomesticproductsinthethreeterritorieswillgrowbyamenial0.5percentthisyear.Aonce-thrivingminingsectorisnowre-evaluatingdevelopmentandexplorationplansduetolowercommod-itypricesandtightcapitalmar-ketswhichmakesitdifcultforminingcompaniestoobtainnancingGlenHodgsonse-niorvice-presidentandchiefeconomistwiththeConferenceBoardsaidinapressrelease.RealGDPisexpectedtobouncebacknextyearhoweverwitha3.2percentincreasein2014and4.2percentboostin2015basedonafavourableglobaldemandformetalsthatwillhighlightCanadaandparticularlytheNorthoverthenextdecade.Theoutlookbeyondthisyearismorepromising.Eco-nomicgrowthintheterrito-riesoverthenextfewyearsisexpectedtoeasilyoutpacegrowthinmostotherCana-dianregionsHodgsonsaid.TheNorthwestTerritorieswillcomeoutwiththeweakestregionaleconomyinCanadathisyearaccordingtothere-portwithnorealGDPgrowthbutthoseshortfallsareexpectedtobeshort-livedasnewminesbeginproduction.Growthisex-pectedtoriseby1.3percentin2014and2.5percentin2015.Yukonsminingindustrysawbothproductionandstaff-ingcutbackswithVictoriaGolddelayingconstructionofitsEagleminebyayear.YukonZincandAlexcoResourcealsobothannouncedtheywerecut-tingproductionandlayingoffemployeesinthesummer.TheboardpredictsgrowthintheYukonwillbelimitedto0.6percentin2013risingto5.7percentnextyear.Nunavutisfacingthelargestdeclineinspendingonmineralexplorationthisyearwhichtheboardblamesonlowerproduc-tionattheMeadowbankminelimitingtheterritorysgrowthto1.6percentthisyear.NextyearhoweverGDPgrowthispredictedtoreach3.7percentwiththedevelopmentofBafnlandsMaryRiverironoreproject.Theoutlookbeyondthisyearismorepromising.ConferenceBoardofCanadaPoliticsFirstNationsIndustryMining