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FirstNationaccusesregulatoroffast-trackingAlbertapipelineEnvironmentPipelines6TuesdayJuly12014TheDepartmentofIndustryTourismandInvestmentITIisseekingexpressionsofinterestforindividualstositonanAboriginalTourismChampionsAdvisoryCouncilfortheNorthwestTerritoriesNWT.TheobjectiveoftheAdvisoryCouncilistoprovideleadershipanddirectionforsustainabledevelopmentofAboriginalTourismintheNWT.Guidelinesfortheexpressionsofinterestcanbedownloadedathttpwww.iti.gov.nt.catourismparksorcanbepickedupatyourlocalregionalITIofce.DeadlinetosendinexpressionsofinterestisJuly112014by500pm.FormoreinformationontheAdvisoryCouncilpleasecontactMr.DouglasDillonAboriginalTourismDevelopmentOfcerat867-920-8767.AboriginalTourismChampionsAdvisoryCouncilCALLFOREXPRESSIONSOFINTERESTByMEAGANWOHLBERGApipelinewithdoublethecapacityofNorthernGate-wayisbeingunfairlyfast-trackedthroughthehearingsprocessbytheAlbertaEnergyRegulatorAERaccordingtoaFirstNationwhosetra-ditionalterritoryfallsalongtheproposedpipelineroute.Hearingsonthe3-billion500-kmGrandRapidspipe-linebetweenFortMcMur-rayandEdmontonbeganlastMondayandlastedthreedays.AnadditionaltwoweeksofhearingsisscheduledforJuly.AthabascaChipewyanFirstNationACFNChiefAllanAdamsaysthatisnotenoughtimegiventhesizeoftheproject.IdontknowwhytheyareinsuchabighurryAdamsaid.AlbertansandCanadiansalikeshouldbeconcernedwhenapipelinemuchlargerthanNorthernGatewayisbeingshovedthroughaprocessthatwilltakeacoupleofweeks.Theyshouldbeaskingifthepro-cessisreallylookingoutfortheirbestinterestsorthein-terestsofthosewhosepock-etswillgetfat.InthiscaseitcertainlyisntintheinterestsofCanadiansorAlbertans.ThepipelineownedjointlybyTransCanadaandAthabascaLacLaBicheFortMcMurrayGRANDRAPIDSPIPELINEProposedWanderingRiverpumpstationProposedMcKayterminalAthabascaRiverapprovallatelastmonthaftermorethanthreeyearsofre-viewandmonthsofpublichearings.TransCanadaarguestheadditionalpipelinecapacityisneededtomeettheexpectedgrowthoftheoilsandspre-dictedtoexpandby1.5to3millionbarrelsperdayoverthenextseveralyears.Theprojectisneededtoen-abletheimmenseproductionpotentialoftheWestAtha-bascaoilsandstoreachmar-ketsasearlyas2015thecompanytoldtheregulatoronTuesday.ByACFNscalculationstheequivalentoftwotothreeadditionalSuncoroilsandsop-erationswouldberequiredtollGrandRapidstocapacity.isrepresentingfarmersandbusinessesalongtheproposedrouteaskedtheregulatorwhyTransCanadawasgivenayeartogothroughthepro-cesswhilelandownershaveonlybeengivenweeks.TheprocessisbeingrushedforthebenefitofTransCanadatothedetri-mentoflandownershesaid.Manywanttoseethefederalregulatorinvolvedsincethepipelinewilllinkupwithnationalorinterna-tionaltransportnetworks.ThoughtheNationalEnergyBoardwasaskedtobepartofthereviewprocessitde-clinedsayingthepipelineisastand-aloneprojectwithinAlbertasjurisdiction.ACFNwilltestifyatthehearingstovoiceconcernsabouttheimpactsofthepro-posedpipelineonlocalwild-lifeandtheFirstNationshar-vestingrights.AccordingtotheFirstNationthe88me-tre-wideswathcutthroughtheforestforthepipelinewillmakeiteasierforpredatorstoattackcaribouandbisonconsideredspeciesat-riskbybothfederalandprovincialgovernments.TheACFNhavedependeduponthecaribouforthou-sandsofyearsandhaveatreatyrighttocontinuehunt-ingthemtheFirstNationstatedinapressrelease.Adamsaidthereviewpro-cessfortheprojecthasbeenawedfromthebeginningdueinparttotheAERsde-cisiontoallowtheproponenttosubmititsnalapplicationonlytwoweeksbeforethehearingsaretobegin.Thenalapplicationma-terialsareover8000pagesandcontainawealthoftech-nicalinformationincludingnewinformationbeingsharedwithaffectedlandownersandFirstNationsforthersttimeACFNnoted.InanemailtoTheJournalAERspokespersonDarinBar-tersaidhearingparticipantswereconsultedontimelim-itsforgivingevidencefororagainstthepipeline.Todatethemajorityofpartieshavenotusedthefullamountoftimeallot-tedhesaid.BarterrejectedtheideathatGrandRapidshearingsshouldhavebeenhandledsimilartotheNorthernGateway.Otherthanthefactthatthehearingisrelatedtoapipelinethereisnoaccuratecomparisonbetweenanin-terprovincialpipelinecross-ingseveralthousandkilome-tresofterrainGatewayandheldbytheNationalEnergyBoardandaprovincialhear-ingintoapipelinecontainedentirelywithinAlbertaandcrossing500kilometresoflandhesaid.ACFNisnottheonlygrouptocriticizetheAERshan-dlingofthereviewprocess.LawyerKeithWilsonwhoIllustrationPaulBannisterPetroChinasCanadianarmPhoenixEnergyHoldingswouldtransport900000bar-relsofbitumenperdayfromtheoilsandstotheEdmontonarea.ThatisnearlytwicethevolumetobecarriedbyEn-bridges1200-km7.9bil-lionNorthernGatewaypipe-linewhichreceivedfederalPhotoDaliCarmichaelAlbertansandCanadiansalikeshouldbeconcernedwhenapipelinemuchlargerthanNorthernGatewayisbeingshovedthroughaprocessthatwilltakeacoupleofweeks.ChiefAllanAdamAthabascaChipewyanFirstNationThe500-kmGrandRapidspipelineisbeingfasttrackedbytheAlbertaEnergyRegulatoraccordingtotheAthabascaChipewyanFirstNation.FortSmithyouthplayinthesandatabeachvolleyballcampheldatthetownsreccentrefromJune24to27.FromleftBronwynRutherford-SimonLeifAubrey-SmithAmelieAubrey-SmithandXanderMcMahonlearnfrominstructorBrandonThompson.